//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//

國際文宣要人！請各位有Twitter戶口嘅朋友盡快retweet，啱啱團隊幫手整咗一個好精簡而完整嘅Tweet，去講解透過緊急條例執行反蒙面法先係最大獲，政府已經講明會透過經貿辦同外國領事解釋，我哋一定要守好國際輿論支持。

【MASK-BAN UNDER EMERGENCY LAW MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF HK】
https://twitter.com/joshuawongcf/status/1180015042906845184?s=21

Anti-mask law, reportedly effective midnight, marks just the beginning. The real danger is invoking ERO.

1/ It is no less harmful than the extradition bill as virtually the law gives CE mighty power to impose whatever she and Beijing like to — more oppressive, arbitrary arrest and search, extending dention to 96 hours or more, banning internet access, de facto martial laws are highly expected from HKGov and CCP. (Ironically using this colonial weapon to announce emergency state would contravened Basic Law)

2/ Even working class already marched in Central and Taikoo during lunchtime today. #CarrieLam clearly did not learn from her mistakes. We know well that the law would not deter protestors from taking to street. Further public outcry is escalated by the govt.

3/ Her resolve to stop further protests is extremely harmful to the real interest of HK - economic freedom, civil liberties recognised by the int’l community. It becomes crystal clear now neither Beijing nor #CarrieLam intends to protect HK's business environment

4/ As I said earlier, October 1st marked the day security forces — HK police or the People’s Armed Police (PAP) took over HK. No doubt HK had fallen into a police state. World leaders should act now to stop a brewing humanitarian crisis in HK.

Previously: https://twitter.com/joshuawongcf/status/1166317459680313345

【#香港研究推介】

港英政府到底有多大自主性(Autonomy)？嶺南大學博士生James Fellows最近在《Historical Research》發表論文，指出港英政府一般都能自主內政事務，甚至有能力抵制倫敦干預；但這種廣泛自主性並非毫無限制，其中英國的外交政策利益，就是其中一個重要界線。

James Fellows以1967年路透社記者Anthony Grey被拘禁事件為案例，指出當香港內政事務與英國外交政策衝突時，港英政府的自主性將被壓抑。按James Fellows的分析，Anthony Grey在被拘禁後，北京隨即以此為籌碼，要求釋放在六七暴動中被起訴的新華社員工。港督戴麟趾認為如果屈從於北京的要求，等同違反他強硬抗暴的政策，勢必嚴重打擊港府威信，遂極力抵抗英國外交部內的主和意見。事件膠著近兩年後，由於倫敦急於改善中英關係，結果戴麟趾在倫敦的壓力下，最終決定縮減涉事新華社員工的刑期。

這篇文章對Anthony Grey事件分析得透徹精彩，有助更全面理解英治時代的中央邊陲關係，不可不讀。

全文下載：http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-2281.12133

〈Colonial autonomy and Cold War diplomacy: Hong Kong and the case of Anthony Grey, 1967–9〉

Abstract

Recent literature has explored the substantial autonomy Hong Kong enjoyed under British imperial rule in the post-war period. We are, however, left without an understanding of the precise parameters in which colonial authority could be exercised autonomously, and how and why it could be compromised. An investigation of the imprisonment in Beijing of British Reuters journalist Anthony Grey from 1967 to 1969, in retaliation for the arrest in Hong Kong of journalists for their part in the 1967 disturbances, demonstrates that the extensive autonomy of the Hong Kong authorities could be compromised if colonial policy contravened British foreign policy objectives towards China.

#香港研究 #香港研究學院 #學術期刊 #港英政府 #自主性 #六七暴動 #新華社 #戴麟趾

-----------------------------------
Follow me：
1. Facebook：facebook.com/brianfonghk
2. Instagram：instagram.com/brianfonghk