Citizens' Radio
Encyclopedia
Pro-democracy camp
Pro-democracy camp, pan-democracy camp or pan-democrats refer to the politicians and social activists in Hong Kong who support increased democracy and may work together in areas of common interest or by not fielding candidates against one another in elections.Democratic activists are usually...
figure Tsang Kin Shing (曾健成). 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–8:00 pm from Monday to Friday. The programmes can be heard in parts of Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...
, most of Kowloon
Kowloon
Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...
, 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 legislatorsLegislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
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
Office of the Telecommunications Authority
Office of the Telecommunications Authority or OFTA is the executive arm of the Telecommunications Authority in Hong Kong. It is the body responsible for telecommunications regulation , antitrust enforcement and allocation of the radio frequency portion of the electromagnetic spectrum Office of...
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
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
.
Event
On 25 May 2007 Szeto WahSzeto Wah
Szeto Wah was a politician of the pan-democracy camp of Hong Kong. He was formerly the chairman of The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China and a member of the Legislative Council from 1985 to 1997 and 1998 to 2004.Although the Hong Kong government prior to as...
was speaking in a Mong Kok
Mong Kok
Mong Kok , less often known as Argyle , is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District on Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong...
pedestrianised street hosted by Citizen's Radio. The topic of the programme involved the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
.
Szeto Wah
Szeto Wah
Szeto Wah was a politician of the pan-democracy camp of Hong Kong. He was formerly the chairman of The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China and a member of the Legislative Council from 1985 to 1997 and 1998 to 2004.Although the Hong Kong government prior to as...
:
Charges
Eight people including Szeto Wah were prosecuted. According to the summons, Szeto was using unlicensed radio equipment when delivering the political message. Only the chief executiveChief Executive of Hong Kong
The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is the President of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and head of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The position was created to replace the Governor of Hong Kong, who was the head of the Hong Kong government during British rule...
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 and legislator Choy So-yuk of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong KongDemocratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong , formerly known as Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, is the largest pro-Beijing political party in Hong Kong...
. They were not charged. Leung Kwok-hung (Longhair)
Leung Kwok-hung
Leung Kwok-hung , also known as Long Hair , is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong , a founding member of the League of Social Democrats and a democratic political activist.-Biography:Leung is a self-proclaimed Trotskyist and a member of April Fifth Action, a radical socialist...
added that this is "selective prosecution". Mak Yin-ting (麥燕婷), general secretary of the Hong Kong Journalists Association
Hong Kong Journalists Association
The Hong Kong Journalists Association was established in 1968 for practising journalists in Hong Kong "to enhance press freedom and the integrity of news coverage"...
have said "Everything is subject to government discretion. The government can grant or deny you a license 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 LungWong Yan Lung
Wong Yan-lung, SC, JP is the current Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong since 20 October 2005.-Early years:Wong grew up in a small flat in Tai Wong Street East in Wan Chai. He sold ice cream with his father for a monthly income of HK$300-HK$400. Wong graduated from secondary school at Queen's...
(黃仁龍) slumped to a six-month low in public confidence.
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 KokMong KokMong Kok , less often known as Argyle , is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District on Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong...
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 DemocratsLeague of Social DemocratsThe League of Social Democrats or LSD is a radical pro-democratic political party in Hong Kong. Its declared purpose is to "take a clear-cut stand to defend the interests of the grassroots"...
Wong Yuk-man (黃毓民). Five other legislators also took part in the unlicensed broadcast.
- On 4 May 2008 another public broadcast was made at Times Square.
Court
- On 8 Jan 2008 the ruling by magistrate Douglas Yau Tak-hong (游德康) 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.
| English name (jyutping or pinyin depending on media coverage) |
Chinese name | Representing |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Cheuk-yan | 李卓人 | Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions is a pro-democracy labour and political group in the Hong Kong. It was established in 1990... |
| Emily Lau Wai-hing | 劉慧卿 | The Frontier The Frontier (Hong Kong) The Frontier was a relatively radical pro-democracy political group in the Hong Kong. It was established on 26 August 1996. The group was headed by former convenor Emily Lau Wai-hing since its establishment as a loose group of individual pro-democracy activists.On 23 November 2008, the Frontier... |
| Lee Wing-tat | 李永達 | Democratic party Democratic Party (Hong Kong) The Democratic Party is a pro-democracy political party in Hong Kong. It was established on 2 October 1994. The party is currently the second largest party in the Legislative Council, headed by Chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan and, following the November 2008 merger with the Frontier, had around 745... |
| Fernando Cheung Fernando Cheung Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung is a Hong Kong politician, the vice-chairman of the Civic Party, he is a former member of the Legislative Council.Cheung worked in the United States from 1988, and became a naturalized United States citizen. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in... |
張超雄 | Civic Party Civic Party Civic Party is a liberal democratic political party in Hong Kong.The Civic Party is currently the third largest political party in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, with five members securing seats in the 2008 Hong Kong Legislative Council elections... |
| Albert Chan Albert Chan The Honourable Albert Wai-yip Chan , born 3 March 1955 in Hong Kong) is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong representing the New Territories West constituency, except for the periods 1997-2000 and Jan-May 2011. Chan is also a member of the Tsuen Wan District Council... |
陳偉業 | Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood The Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood is a pro-democracy political party in the Hong Kong. It was established on 26 October 1986. The current chairman of the party is Bruce Liu.-History:... |
| Leung Kwok-hung Leung Kwok-hung Leung Kwok-hung , also known as Long Hair , is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong , a founding member of the League of Social Democrats and a democratic political activist.-Biography:Leung is a self-proclaimed Trotskyist and a member of April Fifth Action, a radical socialist... |
梁國雄 | League of Social Democrats League of Social Democrats The League of Social Democrats or LSD is a radical pro-democratic political party in Hong Kong. Its declared purpose is to "take a clear-cut stand to defend the interests of the grassroots"... |
| Tsang Kin-shing Tsang Kin-shing Tsang Kin-shing nicknamed The Bull was born 1957 in Hong Kong. He was formerly a member of the Legislative Council and the current member of Eastern District Council. He is mostly known as the founder of the highly controversial Citizens' Radio... |
曾健成 | Activists, founder of station |
| Lo Hom-chau | 羅就 | Activists |
| Yang Kuang | 楊匡 | Activists |
| Ko Wah-bing | 柯華 | Activists |
| Poon Tat-keung | 潘達強 | Activists |
- On 10 Sept 2008 the rulings by magistrate Douglas Yau will be heard in the Court of Appeal.
- 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 AuthorityOffice of the Telecommunications Authority
Office of the Telecommunications Authority or OFTA is the executive arm of the Telecommunications Authority in Hong Kong. It is the body responsible for telecommunications regulation , antitrust enforcement and allocation of the radio frequency portion of the electromagnetic spectrum Office of...
(OFTA) mounted an enforcement operation against Citizens' Radio and raided the radio equipment on 19 December 2008. Activist Tsang Kin-shing
Tsang Kin-shing
Tsang Kin-shing nicknamed The Bull was born 1957 in Hong Kong. He was formerly a member of the Legislative Council and the current member of Eastern District Council. He is mostly known as the founder of the highly controversial Citizens' Radio...
said the equipment was worth HK$20,000 to HK$30,000.