Beijing-backed publisher ordered to pay HK$250,000 in damages to Hong Kong press group over Occupy allegations

High Court dismisses author’s defence as she admits accusation that Independent Commentators Association was backed by US funding was based on hearsay

‘Occupy Central – A Perspective’ was published by a company owned by Beijing’s Liaison Office in the city through a number of local and mainland firms

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A High Court judge on Monday ordered a Beijing-backed publisher to pay HK$250,000 in damages for defaming a local press group. Photo: Warton Li

Published: 7:02pm, 29 Mar 2021Updated: 7:22pm, 29 Mar 2021

A Beijing-funded publisher has been ordered to pay HK$250,000 (US$32,000) in damages to a Hong Kong press group for defamatory remarks in a book which alleged it had taken money from the United States to support the 2014 Occupy Movement.

The High Court also dismissed the author’s defence that she had taken reasonable steps to verify the truthfulness of her claim, after she admitted in the witness box the accusation was based on hearsay.

The lawsuit centred on the book Occupy Central – A Perspective, published in February 2015. Its publisher, Joint Publishing (HK) Co. Ltd., is owned by Beijing’s Liaison Office through a number of local and mainland companies.

Testifying under oath, the author of ‘Occupy Central – A Perspective’ (pictured) conceded she had not verified certain claims made in the book. Photo: Joint Publishing (HK)

The book’s author, Kwan Sau-king – better known by her pen name Yu Fei – took a critical view of the 79-day protest, sparked by Beijing’s decision to adopt a tightly-controlled framework for what would have been Hong Kong’s first election of a city leader via universal suffrage. Protesters occupied major thoroughfares in the city before the High Court granted an injunction order ending the demonstration.

In the book, Kwan alleged the Independent Commentators Association (ICA), founded by 14 local journalists and pundits, had received funding from the National Endowment for Democracy in the United States to “selectively report the facts” about the movement, while publishing comments and viewpoints “partial towards the demonstrators”.

The association sued the publisher and Kwan for defamation in 2015, saying the remarks implied it had been under the control of foreign forces.

During the trial, Kwan said she had relied on four “reliable” sources of information in making her allegation. One was a photo of an ICA founding member published on Speakout HK, a pro-Beijing news platform founded by supporters of former city leader Leung Chun-ying. The photo’s caption said the group had been funded by the United States.