Citizens' Radio is a radio station in Hong Kong established by
pro-democracy camp figure
Tsang Kin Shing (). The station is run as a non-profit organization. It started trial broadcasting on 3 October 2005 on 102.8 MHz FM. The regular broadcasting hours are 7:00 pm–12:00 pm from Monday to Friday. The programmes can be heard in parts of
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
, most of
Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...
, and on the Internet.
Purpose
The principle of the station is "Be open and bravely speak out", so the main type of programming is a speech-based "phone-in" format. Sometimes Hong Kong
legislators are invited as special guests. The station has also made live broadcasts of the
Hong Kong 1 July marches and Vindicate 4 June and Relay Torch in the past.
Tsang has submitted an application for a sound broadcasting licence to the
Broadcasting Authority, but the application is still pending. So technically speaking Citizens Radio's broadcasts are illegal. On 29 August 2006 with the court search warrant, the
Office of the Telecommunications Authority forced the station to close down. But the station resumed broadcasting on 4 October 2006. The station has been repeatedly raided by the Telecommunications Authority since but it kept on broadcasting as a form of
civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...
.
Citizens' Radio broadcast incident
Event
On 25 May 2007
Szeto Wah was speaking in a
Mong Kok pedestrianised street hosted by Citizen's Radio. The topic of the programme involved the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
.
[The Standard.]
Comment
." ''Szeto faces Citizens' Radio rap.'' Retrieved 30 December 2007.
Charges
Eight people including Szeto Wah were prosecuted.
[Alliance.org.hk.]
Retrieved 29 December 2007. According to the summons, Szeto was using unlicensed radio equipment when delivering the political message. Only the
chief executive or the director general of the Telecommunications Authority have the power to approve licences for such equipment.
Selective prosecution
Szeto said he was discriminated against for this event, and had appeared on the same station before without being charged.
Other members who have spoken on the radio station included
Anthony Cheung Bing Leung
Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a '' gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton ...
and legislator
Choy So-yuk
Choy So-yuk, BBS, JP (, born 10 October 1950) is a Hong Kong politician. She was an elected member of Eastern District Council and a Hong Kong Deputy of the National People’s Congress. From 1997 to 2008 she was a member of the Legislative C ...
of the pro-Beijing
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong. They were not charged.
added that this is "selective prosecution". Mak Yin-ting (), general secretary of the
Hong Kong Journalists Association have said "Everything is subject to government discretion. The government can grant or deny you a licence as long as it wishes. It is not in accordance with the rule of law."
Others
After the prosecution, Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice
Wong Yan Lung
Wong Yan-lung, GBM, SC (; born 1963) is a barrister in Hong Kong who served as the second Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong between 20 October 2005 and 30 June 2012.
Early years
Wong grew up in a small flat in Tai Wong Street East ( 大王æ ...
() slumped to a six-month low in public confidence.
[South China morning post. "Controversies appear to shake public confidence in two ministers." Retrieved 29 December 2007.]
The latest case follows an ongoing lawsuit in which
Tsang and Leung are arguing that the Telecommunications Ordinance, specifically the granting of broadcasting licences, was unconstitutional.
Post charges broadcasts
* On 20 April 2008 the station made a broadcast in
Mong Kok after a three months break. It was hosted by radio founder Tsang Kin-shing. He was joined by veteran pro-democracy activist Szeto Wah and chairman of the
League of Social Democrats
The League of Social Democrats (LSD) is a social democratic party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Chan Po-ying, wife of Leung Kwok-hung, it positions itself as the radical wing of the pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong), pro-democracy camp and stresses on ...
Wong Yuk-man (). Five other legislators also took part in the unlicensed broadcast.
[South China morning post. "Citizens' Radio broadcasters could face prosecution." Retrieved 21 April 2008.]
* On 4 May 2008 another public broadcast was made at
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
.
Court
* On 8 Jan 2008 the ruling by magistrate Douglas Yau Tak-hong () said certain provisions of the broadcasting law in the Telecommunication Ordinance was unconstitutional.
* On 23 May 2008 six lawmakers and five democracy activists appeared in Eastern district court. The case was adjourned until 15 October 2008 waiting for the ruling of Douglas Yau.
[South China morning post. "Citizens' Radio activists appear in court." Retrieved 22 Sep 2019.]
* On 10 Sept 2008 the rulings by magistrate Douglas Yau will be heard in the
Court of Appeal
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
.
* On 12 Dec 2008 the HK government won its appeal against the dismissal of charges against Citizens' Radio activists for broadcasting without a licence.
Raid
The
Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) mounted an enforcement operation against Citizens' Radio and raided the radio equipment on 19 December 2008. Activist
Tsang Kin-shing said the equipment was worth
HK$
The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong and ...
20,000 to HK$30,000.
[South China Morning Post. 20 December 2008." Ofta raids Citizens' Radio." Retrieved on 5 January 2009.]
References
External links
Official Homepage of Citizens Radio* {{facebook, citizensradio1028
Radio stations in Hong Kong
Pirate radio stations
2005 establishments in Hong Kong
Radio stations established in 2005