Citizens' Radio was a radio station in Hong Kong established by

pro-democracy camp The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic La ...

figure Tsang Kin Shing. The station ran as a non-profit organization. It started trial broadcasting on 3 October 2005 on 102.8 MHz FM. The regular broadcasting hours were 7:00 pm–12:00 pm from Monday to Friday. The station ceased to operate on 30 June 2023, with Tsang saying that the station had had trouble inviting guests in view of "so many red lines" an apparent reference to national security legislation enacted in 2020, and that due to the blocking of a bank account for receiving donations, the station would be unable to pay rent beyond August.

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

legislators A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-natio ...

are invited as special guests. The station has also made live broadcasts of the

Hong Kong 1 July marches Hong may refer to: Places *Høng, a town in Denmark *Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China *Hong, Nigeria *Hong River in China and Vietnam *Lake Hong in China Surnames *Hong (Chinese surname) *Hong (Korean surname) O ...

and Vindicate 4 June and Relay Torch in the past. Tsang has submitted an application for a sound broadcasting licence to the

Broadcasting Authority Broadcasting is the distribution of audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began with ...

, 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 The Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) is an executive arm of the Communications Authority in Hong Kong. It is the body responsible for telecommunications regulation (through the Regulatory Affairs Branch), antitrust enforcement (thr ...

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 is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

Citizens' Radio broadcast incident

Event

On 25 May 2007

Szeto Wah Szeto Wah (; 28 February 1931 – 2 January 2011) was a Hong Kong democracy activist and politician. He was the founding chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, the Hong Kong Professional Teac ...

was speaking in a

Mong Kok Mong Kok (Chinese language, Chinese: 旺角), also spelled Mongkok, often abbreviated as MK, is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Prince Edward, Hong Kong, Prince Edward subarea occupies the northern part of Mong Kok. As one of the major sho ...

pedestrianised street hosted by Citizen's Radio. The topic of the programme involved the

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...

.The Standard.
Comment
." ''Szeto faces Citizens' Radio rap.'' Retrieved 30 December 2007.

Charges

Eight people including Szeto Wah were prosecuted.Alliance.org.hk.

Retrieved 29 December 2007. According to the summons, Szeto was using unlicensed radio equipment when delivering the political message. Only the

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

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 Choy So-yuk, BBS, JP (, born 10 October 1950) is a Hong Kong politician. She was an elected member of Eastern District Council and a Hong Kong Deputy of the National People’s Congress. From 1997 to 2008 she was a member of the Legislative ...

of the pro-Beijing

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) is a pro-Beijing political party registered since 1992 in Hong Kong. Chaired by Gary Chan and holding 19 Legislative Council seats, it is currently the largest party ...

. They were not charged. Leung Kwok-hung (Longhair) added that this is "selective prosecution". Mak Yin-ting (), general secretary of the

Hong Kong Journalists Association The Hong Kong Journalists Association () is a Hong Kong association that represents journalists in Hong Kong. Established in 1968, the association acts as a trade union for journalists by seeking to improve working conditions for them and ...

have said "Everything is subject to government discretion. The government can grant or deny you a licence 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 Lung Wong Yan-lung, GBM, SC (; born 1963) is a barrister in Hong Kong who served as the second Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong between 20 October 2005 and 30 June 2012. Early years Wong grew up in a small flat in Tai Wong Street East ( 大王 ...

slumped to a six-month low in public confidence.South China morning post. "Controversies appear to shake public confidence in two ministers." Retrieved 29 December 2007. 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

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 Democrats The League of Social Democrats (LSD) is a social democratic party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Chan Po-ying, wife of Leung Kwok-hung, it positions itself as the radical wing of the pro-democracy camp and stresses on "street actions" and "parlia ...

Wong Yuk-man Raymond Wong Yuk-man (; born 1 October 1951) is a Hong Kong author, current affairs commentator and radio host. He is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), representing the geographical constituency of Kowloon West. ...

. Five other legislators also took part in the unlicensed broadcast.South China morning post. "Citizens' Radio broadcasters could face prosecution." Retrieved 21 April 2008. * On 4 May 2008 another public broadcast was made at

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

Court

* On 8 Jan 2008 the ruling by magistrate Douglas Yau Tak-hong () 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.South China morning post. "Citizens' Radio activists appear in court." Retrieved 22 Sep 2019. * On 10 Sept 2008 the rulings by magistrate Douglas Yau will be heard in the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

. * 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

(OFTA) mounted an enforcement operation against Citizens' Radio and raided the radio equipment on 19 December 2008. Activist

Tsang Kin-shing Tsang Kin-shing (; born 1957), also known by his nickname "The Bull", is a Hong Kong politician who formerly served as a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Legislative Council and later the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern District ...

said the equipment was worth

HK$ The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of Hong Kong. It is divided into 100 cents. Historically, it was also divided into 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong an ...

20,000 to HK$30,000.South China Morning Post. 20 December 2008." Ofta raids Citizens' Radio." Retrieved on 5 January 2009.

References

External links

Official Homepage of Citizens Radio
* {{facebook, citizensradio1028 Radio stations in Hong Kong Pirate radio stations 2005 establishments in Hong Kong Radio stations established in 2005