[cr-india] Hong Kong pirate radio station gets OK from High Court

[Vickram Crishna]

It seems quite interesting that the Chinese government, not one renowned for its respect for individual or media freedom, should have a judicial system where in fact such respect can be systematised.

India, definitely the world's largest democracy (which is possibly  an enconium to the technique, no more), on the other hand, has a judicial system that the President has to sit up and chastise for its inability to deal with the subject of dispensing justice. It is 12.5 years since the Supreme Court declared the freedom of the airwaves, but the system seems bent (through continuing judicial silence) on affording it as much freedom as our wetlands - ie, rapacious 'development' by unscrupulous, narrow-minded and blinker-visioned industrialists and 'businesspeople'. We get repeated alarms from our friends in the US, as to how the radio soundscape, once a beacon to the free-thinking world, is vanishing in a welter of bowdlerised pap, and it is painfully obvious that the same level of sophisticated thinking is being applied here. So 'interesting', in the context of China, is possibly an understatement!
 
Vickram
http://communicall.wordpress.com
http://vvcrishna.wordpress.com

----- Original Message ----
From: George Lessard <media at web.net>
Sent: Wednesday, 20 February, 2008 9:16:51 PM
Subject: [cr-india] Hong Kong pirate radio station gets OK from High Court



---------------------------- 
Original 
Message 
----------------------------
Subject: 
[MRN] 
Honk 
Kong 
pirate 
radio 
station 
gets 
OK 
from 
High 
Court
From:  
  
"radtimes" 
<resist at comcast.net>
Date:  
  
Tue, 
February 
19, 
2008 
18:53
To:  
  
  
Recipient 
list 
suppressed:;
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[See 
URL 
for 
embedded 
links.]

Honk 
Kong 
pirate 
radio 
station 
gets 
OK 
from 
High 
Court

http://www.artthreat.net/2008/02/honk-kong-pirate-radio-station

By 
Michael 
Lithgow,
February 
11, 
2008

The 
Hong 
Kong 
government's 
attempt 
to 
shut 
down 
pirate 
radio
broadcaster 
Citizen's 
Radio 
was 
scuttled 
in 
a 
recent 
decision 
of 
the
Hong 
Kong 
High 
Court. 
In 
the 
decision, 
the 
Court 
stated 
that 
it 
did
not 
see 
how 
the 
station's 
broadcasting 
could 
jeopardize 
public 
safety.

In 
a 
complicated 
ongoing 
legal 
battle, 
the 
Hong 
Kong 
government 
had
sought 
to 
extend 
an 
injunction 
preventing 
the 
station 
from 
going 
to
air. 
Citizen's 
Radio 
argued 
that 
denial 
of 
their 
application 
for 
a
license 
violated 
their 
freedom 
of 
expression.

The 
unlicensed 
broadcasts 
were 
started 
in 
2005 
by 
a 
group 
of
pro-democracy 
activists 
after 
their 
application 
for 
a 
license 
was
denied 
by 
the 
Broadcasting 
Authority. 
The 
station 
airs 
phone-ins 
and
discussions 
about 
current 
events 
and 
politics, 
including 
discussions
about 
Hong 
Kong's 
transition 
to 
full 
democracy. 
In 
2006, 
the 
station
was 
raided 
by 
state 
agents, 
members 
were 
arrested 
and 
equipment 
confiscated.

After 
resuming 
broadcasts, 
the 
station 
got 
under 
official 
skin 
once
again 
in 
May 
2007 
after 
legendary 
democracy 
activist, 
Szeto 
Wah, 
was
interviewed 
about 
the 
Tiananmen 
Square 
Massacre. 
After 
the 
interview,
Wah 
was 
charged 
with 
"knowingly 
becoming 
involved 
in 
the 
use 
of
unlicensed 
communications 
equipment 
in 
order 
to 
transmit 
radio 
signals."

Citizen's 
Radio 
broadcasts 
on 
102.8 
FM 
from 
a 
tiny 
150 
square 
foot
studio 
in 
a 
warehouse 
district 
in 
Mongok. 
They 
also 
distribute
programming 
from 
their 
website.

For 
more 
coverage 
of 
the 
Citizen's 
Radio 
case 
and 
the 
pro-democracy
movement 
in 
Hong 
Kong 
check 
out 
HK 
Tech 
Phooey 
or 
dm's 
blog.

For 
more 
info 
about 
Citizen's 
Radio 
(in 
English), 
check 
out 
wikipedia.

.




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