HKSAR V. CHOW HANG TUNG (鄒幸彤)

[2024] HKCFA 2 Court of Final Appeal 25 January 2024 • FACC9/2023 • 141 min read

30 cases cited (0 HK, 30 foreign) Cited by 6 cases

Outcome

Application dismissed

the applications were dismissed.

Source: [2024] HKCFA 2, Court of Final Appeal, decided 25 January 2024. Read directly from the judgment.

Judges (5)

Cheung Coram Fok Coram Gleeson Coram Lam Coram Ribeiro Coram

Counsel (6)

Cheng & Co Firm Department of Justice Firm Chris Ng Counsel Appellant Edward Lau Counsel Respondent Robert Pang Counsel Appellant William Tam Counsel Respondent

Parties (2)

HKSAR Respondent Chow Hang Tung Appellant

Case Significance

HKSAR V. CHOW HANG TUNG (鄒幸彤) [2024] HKCFA 2, decided by the Court of Final Appeal on 25 January 2024, concerned the Basic Law (including Articles 8, 27, 35 and 39), section 118F(1) of the Crimes Ordinance, section 101I of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, and section 6(1) of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance. The Court of Final Appeal held that "the applications were dismissed." The judgment followed an earlier Court of Final Appeal ruling in the same matter, HKSAR V. CHOW HANG TUNG (鄒幸彤) [2023] HKCFA 14, and referred to HKSAR V. CHEUNG KAM FAI (張錦輝) [2021] HKCFA 15. Related Court of First Instance proceedings were addressed in HKSAR V. CHOW HANG TUNG AND OTHERS [2024] HKCFI 1366, HKSAR V. CHOW HANG TUNG [2024] HKCFI 479 and HKSAR V. CHOW HANG TUNG AND OTHERS [2024] HKCFI 553. The Court of Final Appeal later applied the same reasoning in HKSAR V. TANG NGOK KWAN (鄧岳君), TSUI HON KWONG (徐漢光) (AND 1 OTHER) [2024] HKCFA 22 and [2025] HKCFA 3, and in HKSAR V. NG NGOI YEE MARGARET (吳靄儀) (D3) (AND 4 OTHERS) [2024] HKCFA 24.

Summary

Chow Hang Tung appealed against her conviction for inciting others to attend an unauthorised assembly commemorating the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The Court of Final Appeal considered whether social media posts constituted incitement and the proper balance between freedom of expression and public order. The appeal addressed important constitutional questions.

What did the Court of Final Appeal decide in HKSAR v CHOW HANG TUNG [2024] HKCFA 2?

In HKSAR V. CHOW HANG TUNG (鄒幸彤) [2024] HKCFA 2, decided 25 January 2024, the Court of Final Appeal held that the applications were dismissed, addressing Basic Law provisions and section 6(1) of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance.

Which ordinances were engaged in HKSAR v CHOW HANG TUNG [2024] HKCFA 2?

The case engaged the Basic Law (Articles 8, 27, 35 and 39), section 118F(1) of the Crimes Ordinance, section 101I of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, and section 6(1) of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, per HKSAR V. CHOW HANG TUNG (鄒幸彤) [2024] HKCFA 2.

Which later Court of Final Appeal cases referred to HKSAR v CHOW HANG TUNG [2024] HKCFA 2?

HKSAR V. TANG NGOK KWAN (鄧岳君), TSUI HON KWONG (徐漢光) (AND 1 OTHER) [2024] HKCFA 22 and [2025] HKCFA 3, and HKSAR V. NG NGOI YEE MARGARET (吳靄儀) (D3) (AND 4 OTHERS) [2024] HKCFA 24 each referred to this Court of Final Appeal decision.

Statutes Cited

Basic Law

Art 27 Art 35 Art 39 Art 8

Crimes Ordinance (Cap 200)

s 118F(1)

Criminal Procedure Ordinance

s 101I s 101I(2)

Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap 383)

s 6(1)

Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance

s 33

Public Order Ordinance

s 17A(3)(a) s 9(4)

Rules of the High Court (Cap 4A)

Cases Cited (30)

UK (11)

[1988] 1 QB 114 [1988] 1 QB 384 [1988] QB 114 [1993] QB 473 [1998] AC 92 [1999] 2 AC 143 [2012] QB 1 [2016] 1 WLR 2118 [2020] AC 491 [2023] AC 505 [2023] KB 37

HK (19)

(2005) 8 HKCFAR 225 (2005) 8 HKCFAR 229 (2006) 9 HKCFAR 574 (2007) 10 HKCFAR 335 (2010) 13 HKCFAR 762 (2012) 15 HKCFAR 743 (2015) 18 HKCFAR 467 (2016) 19 HKCFAR 372 (2022) 25 HKCFAR 191 [2005] 2 HKC 147 [2006] 4 HKLRD 211 [2009] 1 HKC 271 [2013] 1 HKLRD 613 [2018] HKCA 549 [2020] 2 HKLRD 771 [2021] HKCFA 15 [2022] HKCFI 3692 [2023] HKCFA 14 [2023] HKCFI 226

Cited By (6)

[2025] HKCFA 3

HKSAR V. TANG NGOK KWAN (鄧岳君), TSUI HON KWONG (徐漢光) (and 1 other)

[2024] HKCFA 24

HKSAR V. NG NGOI YEE MARGARET (吳靄儀) (D3) (and 4 others)

[2024] HKCFA 22

HKSAR V. TANG NGOK KWAN (鄧岳君), TSUI HON KWONG (徐漢光) (and 1 other)

[2024] HKCFI 1366

HKSAR V. CHOW HANG TUNG AND OTHERS

[2024] HKCFI 553

HKSAR V. CHOW HANG TUNG AND OTHERS

[2024] HKCFI 479

HKSAR V. CHOW HANG TUNG

Citation influence

HKLII records this judgment as cited by 7 later judgments. This counts every later Hong Kong judgment that references this case, which is broader than the resolved citations listed above.

[2024] HKCFA 24 Court of Final Appeal

12 August 2024

[2024] HKCFI 553 Court of First Instance

14 March 2024

[2026] HKMagC 1 裁判法院

11 February 2026

[2025] HKCFA 3 Court of Final Appeal

6 March 2025

[2024] HKCFA 22 Court of Final Appeal

31 July 2024

[2024] HKCFI 1366 Court of First Instance

17 April 2024