April 6, 2016 (South China Morning Post) — Media tycoon Ricky Wong Wai-kay’s long-running battle to secure a share of the free-to-air television market suffered another setback as the Court of Appeal quashed a lower court’s decision to have his licence application reconsidered. The Court of Appeal overturned a Court of First Instance ruling that the Executive Council had failed to follow the pro-competition 1998 reform –...
Read MoreApril 24, 2015 — A court has ruled that it was unlawful for the Chief Executive C.Y. Leung and his cabinet to deny a free-to-air licence to Hong Kong Television Network. The court has ordered the Executive Council to reconsider its October 2013 decision which sparked street protests by HKTV supporters and prompted the telecoms veteran to seek a judicial review. In a written judgment, Mr Justice Thomas Au ruled that when the...
Read More
The recent arrests of individuals involved in the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong for violation of Section 161 of the Crimes Ordinance that targets computer crime offences are raising concern over freedom of expression. In an October 27, 2014 article in Quartz (qz.com), Associate Professor Doreen Weisenhaus is quoted as expressing concern over “whether there is an increased willingness for Hong Kong authorities to extend the...
Read MoreJune 19, 2014 — Two television viewers were given approval to challenge the government’s denial of a free-to-air licence to Hong Kong Television Network (HKTVN). The viewers applied for judicial review into the government’s decision on the grounds that it failed to provide adequate explanation for its denial and that it interfered with their freedom to receive information, in violation of Article 16 of the Hong Kong...
Read More