//An activist detained under Hong Kong’s national security law is planning to apply to the High Court to lift restrictions on the media’s reporting of her bail hearing on Wednesday.

In a message published on Tuesday, Gwyneth Ho argued that laws banning the media from reporting details of bail hearings failed to protect the interests of the accused. The press should be allowed to freely report what happened during those hearings, she said.

“After the defendants under the national security law were arrested and remanded in custody, the reporting restrictions on bail hearings have turned the process into a ‘black box’, and has created widespread fears in society,” she wrote.

“The public has no way of knowing the contents of the bail hearings under the national security law, especially the evidence used by the prosecutors and the courts’ assessment of the defendants.”

Ho is among 47 democracy figures charged with conspiracy to commit subversion, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. They are accused of plotting to subvert state power via an informal primary poll held last July. Only 13 of the 47 have been granted bail since early March.

After being detained for more than six months, Ho will make her bail application at the High Court on Wednesday morning.

She publicised her arguments a day in advance, saying the reporting restrictions set out under section 9P of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance were originally meant to ensure that defendants received a fair trial. The law limits media coverage of bail hearings to basic information such as the defendant’s name, the court’s decision and bail conditions.

Those regulations backfired because the lack of transparency had caused the public to doubt whether the national security law had been fairly implemented, Ho wrote, adding that Hong Kong society was worried about arbitrary arrests based on flimsy evidence.

“In reality, the reporting restrictions benefit the Department of Justice, as it no longer needs to publicly explain the basis of the charges and various political accusations,” she wrote.

“The restrictions have clearly contravened the principle of public justice, and if the courts still refuse to lift them, the public will inevitably suspect that the courts accept this unfair situation.”

The open administration of justice was a fundamental principle of Hong Kong’s common law system, and courts should be scrutinised by the public and the press, Ho said, quoting the city’s former chief justice Denys Roberts.

Hong Kong courts have mostly kept reporting restrictions in place for bail applications under the national security law, though some judges have issued written rulings explaining their decision to grant or refuse bail, which are typically published after a delay.

Earlier on Tuesday, the court again denied the bail application of former pro-democracy lawmaker Gary Fan, a co-defendant in the subversion case. Like most of the 47, Fan has been in custody for months with no trial date lined up as yet.

By Holmes Chan//

言論自由完勝慘慘公爵夫人

應該無乜人會唔記得Harry同Meghan呢兩公婆今年三月接受Oprah訪問呢單英國皇室鬧劇，話自己唔係响大婚典禮嗰日註冊、有皇室人員問個仔會係咩色、質疑係歧視所以個仔唔係王子、有自殺傾向但皇室唔比佢睇醫生之如此類，總之係慘絕人寰。

响訪問出街之後，鬧交界KOL Piers Morgan响當時佢仲係主播嘅《ITV》早晨皇牌節目Good Morning Britain嗰度直接批評Meghan大話連篇，結果Meghan本人同五萬七千幾人一齊向英國電訊監管機構Ofcom投訴，打破Ofcom成立十八年以黎投訴人數嘅紀錄。今日Ofcom正式公布投訴結果，簡單啲就用四個字講晒，「言論自由」。

"Consistent with freedom of expression, Mr Morgan was entitled to say he disbelieved the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's allegations and to hold and express strong views that rigorously challenged their account.
（响貫徹言論自由嘅原則下，Mr Morgan係有權表達對公爵同公爵夫人所講嘅不信任，同時亦有權激烈挑戰佢地嘅言論。）

"The [Ofcom broadcasting] code allows for individuals to express strongly held and robustly argued views, including those that are potentially harmful or highly offensive, and for broadcasters to include these in their programming.
（Ofcom嘅監管守則從來都容許個人，包括廣播機構嘅從業員，表達強而有力嘅論點，當中包括可能做成傷害或者攻擊性嘅言論。）

"The restriction of such views would, in our view, be an unwarranted and chilling restriction on freedom of expression both of the broadcaster and the audience."
（限制呢類觀點只會對廣播從業員或者觀眾嘅言論自由做成不必要嘅寒蟬效應。）

Patreon原文：
英國電視監管機構Ofcom，再一次守住言論自由
https://bit.ly/3zD6b2x

事件回帶重溫，免費Patreon Podcast：
Piers Morgan引發嘅英國文化之戰
https://bit.ly/3qCmbN9

#PrincessPinocchios網軍收皮啦
#英國勝在有理性

Ofcom判決原文：
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/223746/Good-Morning-Britain,-ITV,-8-March-2021,-0600.pdf

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📢月頭乞食：文字、時間與心血有價
🥣乞兒兜（月頭課金係最抵）：
https://www.patreon.com/goodbyehkhellouk

最近更新：
真.「清零」國度
https://bit.ly/3t5rMhQ
外交大臣接受下議院外交委員會質詢，口啞了
https://bit.ly/3BzFkoJ
拜登與阿富汗總統响7月23號嘅電話
https://bit.ly/2V1ERfk
Podcast：近代阿富汗與塔利班點黎
https://bit.ly/3jAElyF
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英國金融時報此文相當貼切真實，直述一個只會逃避現實，欺騙人民美國爸爸會來救我的蔡英文政府。

quote:

“There is a lack of discussion, and of a clear sense of what the threat is,” said Bush, who argued in a recent book that Taiwan’s democracy has failed to address how the country can survive and preserve its “good life”.

“What we have seen is avoidance of the underlying reality, of real choices.”

“The government should be raising people’s awareness of the military threat. But instead of doing real things, they just talk, telling people to hate China and love the US and Japan,”

Tsai Hui-chun, the retired teacher, believes that although she has no desire for Taiwan to become part of China, it will eventually happen.

She said: “When they come one day, what could we do about it anyway?”

https://www.ft.com/content/b0e3fa00-42af-4914-9323-38c75ac46d67

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Video shot and edited by Jay Walia on a Samsung S7 Edge.

- Jay Walia & Pura Vida reviews are not affiliated with any retailers/distributors/corporations unless stated otherwise.
- The 'Pura Vida Intro' and 'Pura Vida Outro' theme are copyrighted works of original music, ©Jay Walia Music.
- All cigars for reviews are bought by the reviewer unless stated otherwise.
- All opinions expressed in reviews are personal views and cannot be argued as fact unless stated otherwise. #cigar #review #cigarreview

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Video shot and edited by Jay Walia on a Samsung S7 Edge.

- Jay Walia & Pura Vida reviews are not affiliated with any retailers/distributors/corporations unless stated otherwise.
- The 'Pura Vida Intro' and 'Pura Vida Outro' theme are copyrighted works of original music, ©Jay Walia Music.
- All cigars for reviews are bought by the reviewer unless stated otherwise.
- All opinions expressed in reviews are personal views and cannot be argued as fact unless stated otherwise. #cigar #review #cigarreview

Cigar Bar KL's resident Cigar Sommelier, Divya Nandini reviews a cigar that was gifted to her by Azliza from Pacific Cigar Company/La Casa, the Cuaba Divinos a tiny and rather seemingly rare cigar to find these days. How did it far? Lets find out!

(http://cigarbar.my)

Video shot and edited by Jay Walia on a Samsung S7 Edge.

- Jay Walia & Pura Vida reviews are not affiliated with any retailers/distributors/corporations unless stated otherwise.
- The 'Pura Vida Intro' and 'Pura Vida Outro' theme are copyrighted works of original music, ©Jay Walia Music.
- All cigars for reviews are bought by the reviewer unless stated otherwise.
- All opinions expressed in reviews are personal views and cannot be argued as fact unless stated otherwise. #cigar #review #cigarreview