Club Breakfast Briefing: Covering the Hong Kong Protests – A Workshop on the Legal Risks for Journalists

Apart from their physical safety, journalists covering the Hong Kong protests also face a wide range of legal risks. In the second of the FCC’s workshop series, Hong Kong University Journalism School lecturer Sharron Fast will explain the kinds of legal issues media can face and how to deal with them.
Topics include – Know your rights: What to do if you are stopped, detained or arrested by the Hong Kong police, including who to call, where to find information on the law and where to find free legal advice. Mobile security: warrantless searches of technology – do I have to turn over my password ? What to do if requested to hand over unpublished recordings, videos, photos and notes. This includes recent case law. Your legal status – do journalists have the right to enter LegCo or other buildings when protestors have broken down the doors? Is it trespassing? And how to make a complaint if you feel you or your journalist colleagues are victims of excessive use of force by the police or have been attacked by demonstrators or others.

Sharron Fast joined the Journalism and Media Studies Centre in January 2016 from the Faculty of Law at The University of Hong Kong where she was engaged in lecturing for the Faculty and conducting research at the Centre for Comparative and Public Law (CCPL). Her research there focused on criminal law and human rights issues. She is the former editor of the CCPL Rights Bulletin and the Annotated Ordinances of Hong Kong. She has previously taught Hong Kong Legal Systems in the Santa Clara University Summer Abroad Programme, as well as Criminal Law and The Rule of Law with the Faculty of Law at HKU.