Date: September 5, 2020 (Saturday)
Time: 15:00 — 17:00
Language: English
Venue: Zoom Webinar
Zoom Registration: Please click HERE to reserve a place.
(Prior registration will be required. The zoom ID will be sent to registrants by email)
The promulgation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL) has sparked local and international concerns about the law’s impact on freedom of speech and of the press in Hong Kong. However, Article 4 of the NSL stipulates that “The rights and freedoms, including the freedoms of speech, of the press, of publication…. which residents of the Region enjoy under the Basic Law… and the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as applied to Hong Kong shall be protected in accordance with the law.” How would the law be implemented in ways that would honour the pledges in Article 4? What are the comparative experiences of Singapore and other countries with long histories of authoritarian control of the news media? What are the rooms for free expression under the new law? In this webinar, three experts will share their insights on these questions.
Moderator: Hualing Fu, Dean, Warren Chan Professor of Human Rights and Responsibilities, HKU Faculty of Law
Discussant: Christine Loh
Professor Christine Loh is the Chief Development Strategist of the Institute for the Environment, HKUST. She is a former legislator and former undersecretary in the HKSAR Government. She is a lawyer by training and commodities trader by profession. She is the author of many academic and popular works; and is active in various for profit and non-profit organisations.
Speakers:
“Freedom of Expression: Standards and Protections under the ICCPR”
Sharron Fast, Deputy Director of the Masters in Journalism Programme at the Journalism and Media Studies Centre, HKU
Sharron teaches media law to both undergraduate and postgraduate students at the JMSC. Before joining the JMSC in 2016, she taught and conducted research at the Faculty of Law at The University of Hong Kong. This year, she is the course convenor for Human Rights Law in Practice for the Faculty. She is currently engaged in research on two major research projects: the State of News in Asia and the State of Free Expression in Asia.
“Views from the Trenches”
Cliff Buddle, Special Projects Editor and legal affairs writer, South China Morning Post
A journalist for more than 30 years, Cliff began his career as a court reporter in London and moved to Hong Kong in 1994 to join the SCMP. Specialising in court reporting and legal affairs, he has held a variety of editorial positions, including Deputy Editor and Acting Editor-in-Chief.
“Lessons from Beyond China”
Cherian George, Professor of Media Studies, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University
Cherian researches media freedom, censorship and hate propaganda. His books include Media and Power in Southeast Asia (Cambridge Univ Press, 2019); Freedom from the Press: Journalism and State Power in Singapore (NUS Press, 2012); and Hate Spin: The Manufacture of Religious Offence and its Threat to Democracy (MIT, 2016), which was named one of the year’s 100 Best Books by Publishers’ Weekly.
For inquiries, please contact Ms. Shelby Chan at