News commentator denies unlawfully revealing police meeting details online
A Hong Kong news commentator accused of violating the national security law has denied exposing police intelligence operations, telling a court that details of his meeting with officers were already public knowledge before he posted them online. Wong Kwok-ngon, 72, who ran a YouTube commentary channel under the pen name Wong On-yin, stood trial at the District Court on Friday. He is the first…
A 72-year-old Hong Kong news commentator, Wong Kwok-ngon, is on trial for allegedly unlawfully disclosing details of a police meeting online. The commentator, who goes by the name Wong On-yin, claims the information was already public knowledge prior to his posting. The trial centers on claims that Wong prejudiced an investigation into national security offenses by revealing details of a police interview on his YouTube channel.
Wong is charged with knowingly publishing seditious publications in connection with videos covering local and international news. The meeting Wong discusses occurred on December 2, 2025, when he met with two sergeants from the National Security Department. Wong argues that the meeting should have been considered public information since media outlets had already reported he was under investigation.
The prosecution contends that Wong's commentary went beyond "fair comment" and portrayed the National Security Department's operations as a tool of suppression. Wong signed a non-disclosure declaration at the beginning of the meeting, which he claimed he understood. However, the sergeant, Li Pak-him, testified that Wong did not ask questions about the declaration but inquired if he was under investigation.
Li testified that the purpose of the meeting was to gather intelligence from Wong, who was not a suspect at the time, and to assess whether the planned press conference might pose a national security risk. Both sergeants testified to asking Wong about the background of the planned press conference. Wong reportedly questioned why the meeting was confidential when media had already reported on his investigation status.
He maintained he only intended to discuss legal matters and not disclose sensitive information, despite the sergeant reiterating the confidentiality requirement at the end of the hour-long meeting. The trial is set to continue next Monday with evidence of any allegedly seditious content published on Wong's channel.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
