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Nabela Qoser

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Nabela Qoser
Chinese利君雅
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLì Jūnyǎ
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpinglei6 gwan1 ngaa5
Nabela Qoser
Born (1986-07-06) July 6, 1986 (age 38)
British Hong Kong
NationalityChinese
EducationHong Kong Baptist University
OccupationJournalist
Years active2008 ~ present
OrganizationSociety for Cultural Integration
Known forReporter of Conscience, True Hongkonger[1][2][3]
Notable workThis Week, RTHK
AwardsHong Kong Human Rights Press Award[4]

Nabela Qoser (Chinese: 利君雅; born 6 July 1986) is a Hong Kong journalist and broadcaster. Until end of May 2021, she was Assistant Programme Officer at Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and co-hosted the RTHK talk show.[5] She attracted media attention in 2019 following her outspoken questioning of government officials.

Biography

[edit]

Qoser was born in Hong Kong to Pakistani immigrant parents. She attributed her fluency in Cantonese to her education in mainstream schools and watching Cantonese-language television programmes daily.[6] She achieved a grade of A in Chinese Language in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE), and graduated from the Hong Kong Baptist University's Department of Broadcast Journalism in 2008.[7]

As of 2010, Qoser is a member of the Society for Cultural Integration, an organisation which advocates for multiculturalism in Hong Kong.[8]

Career

[edit]

Following graduation, Qoser joined Now TV as a news reporter. She became Hong Kong's first Chinese-language news reporter of non-ethnic Chinese descent.[7] After having worked at Cable TV, in 2011 Qoser joined TVB News as a reporter,[9] sometimes presenting News at 6:30. She left TVB in 2015 and joined Ming Pao as a journalist.[6]

RTHK

[edit]

Qoser joined RTHK as Assistant Programme Officer on 3 October 2017.[10] As of September 2020, she hosts the current affairs talk show This Week [zh] on RTHK TV 31.[11]

Qoser attracted media attention following her questioning of government officials over the 2019 Yuen Long attack.[12] Chief Executive Carrie Lam and several government officials organised a press conference on 22 July 2020, more than ten hours after the mob attack, to respond to media enquiries. During the press conference, Qoser confronted Lam and Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo over the government's delayed response to the attack. She compared the late government press conference to the one held at 4 am soon after the storming of the Legislative Council Complex on 1 July. She further pressed the government on whether the attack was an act of cooperation between the government, the police, and triad groups. When Lam refused to respond directly, Qoser told her to "answer like a human being" (Chinese: 講人話);[13] Qoser also questioned government officials whether they were able to sleep well at night following the attack.[14] Her sharp questioning of government officials was praised in the media and on Internet forums, with netizens calling her a "reporter with conscience" (Chinese: 良心記者).[15]

During the police press conference on 6 August 2019, Qoser asked police officers why they did not immediately arrest the mob attackers on 21 July, unlike their swift arrests on more recent days. She followed up with questions regarding the police's lack of warning to the public, and on CCTV footage that showed police presence that night; she persisted when the police spokesman answered her question indirectly.[16] She was rumoured to have been banned from participating in police press conferences due to her being too direct in her questions, though the RTHK Programme Staff Union clarified that she did not receive pressure from RTHK or the police force.[17] During a police press conference regarding the death of Chow Tsz-lok in November 2019, she repeatedly asked the police on their potential involvement of Chow's death. When officers attempted to proceed to the next question, other journalists participating in the conference passed their turn, effectively handing back the floor back to Qoser.[18]

In January 2020, Qoser interviewed pro-Beijing politician Junius Ho on an episode of This Week. The episode, which Qoser hosted, originally involved a debate between Ho and actor Anthony Wong, though Wong quit last-minute due to an accident and the death of his father-in-law; in response, Qoser interviewed Ho directly.[19] The combative interview involved discussion over the Yuen Long attack. Ho insisted that the attack was triggered by Lam Cheuk-ting bringing people to Yuen Long to provoke locals. Qoser rebuked Ho by pointing out that the first attack in Yuen Long that night occurred at 9:50 pm, before Lam's first appearance inside Yuen Long station at 10:50 pm.[20] Following the interview, some followers of pro-Ho group "Silent Majority" directed racially charged comments at Qoser.[18]

In September 2020, RTHK informed Qoser that they would "reopen" their investigation into complaints regarding Qoser received between July and November 2019, including her performance during government press conferences, and asked to extend her probation period for another 120 days. Previously, her probation period would have lasted three years and would have ended in October 2020. Her colleagues, who entered the same time as she did, were able to complete the probation period successfully. The RTHK Program Staff Union strongly opposed the extension to Qoser's probation period, considering it to be "very unfair" and "unjustified suppression". Union leader Gladys Chiu said Qoser had completed six reviews within her probation period, where any issues with her professional work would have been raised already.[11] According to information obtained by Ming Pao, the decision was made following pressure from executive organs external to RTHK.[21]

On 21 January 2021, as the investigations into the complaints continued, Qoser's civil service contract was terminated, and replaced with merely a 120-day contract.[22] According to the RTHK Programme Staff Union, this was verbally stated by management to be again a civil service contract, but would not allow her to carry over previous years of service or MPF contributions. Union leader Chiu condemned the handling of the case as "unprecedented, arbitrary and non-transparent", and described the decision as amounting to a "termination of employment, in fact".[23][24] On 28 January, over 50 RTHK staff members joined a silent protest, organized by the Staff Union, in support of Qoser.[25]

At the end of April 2021, Qoser was informed that her 120-day contract would not be renewed at its expiry on 30 May, ending her RTHK career.[26][27] Since 3 May, RTHK under the new management began to remove the censored program archives in YouTube such as Headliner, Hong Kong Connection and This Week.[28]

On 6 May 2021, her crew of This Week won the 25th Hong Kong Human Rights Press Awards panelled by Amnesty International Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Journalists Association, and the Foreign Correspondents' Club, Hong Kong with two submissions "In the Name of Justice" and "Awakened, amid the Epidemic?", while another team of Hong Kong Connection also won the Documentary Video award with the emission "7.21 Who Owns the Truth?".[4] After failing to withdraw from the nominations beforehand, RTHK declared to reject the awards.[29][30]

Online harassment

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For her reporting style, Qoser had been subject of attacks by the pro-Beijing camp since the start of the 2019 protests. Abusive comments about Qoser, targeting her skin colour and ethnicity, appeared on pro-Beijing social media pages. On 21 January 2020, the Equal Opportunities Commission issued a statement, which expressed "grave concern" over the social media comments and reiterated the commission's stance against verbal abuse. The statement, which did not directly mention Qoser by name, made reference to the Race Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 602), which prohibits discrimination and harassment based on a person's race.[31][18]

References

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  1. ^ "利君雅促林鄭月娥「講人話」 網民封「新聞女神」" [Nabela urges Carrie Lam to "speak truth"; netizens call her "Goddess of News"]. Weekend Weekly. Ming Pao (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Hong Kong. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  2. ^ "利君雅爆Seed追問特首 獲網民激讚封「新聞女神」" [Nabela follows up the inside story to inquire Chief Executive of Hong Kong, and earns the netizens' praise as "Goddess of News"]. Weekend Weekly (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Hong Kong. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  3. ^ "利君雅追擊特首林鄭月娥 網民瘋傳「爆seed」影片" [Nabela follows up questioning Chief Executive of Hong Kong; the inside story video is revealed]. HK01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Hong Kong. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  4. ^ a b "25th Human Rights Press Awards (2021) Winners" (in Traditional Chinese). New Asia College, Chinese University of Hong Kong. 6 May 2021. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  5. ^ "RTHK terminates long-term contract of prominent journalist, union says". South China Morning Post. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b Cheung, Cally. "【新聞女神】睇電視學中文會考奪A，香港首位南亞裔記者：廣東話才是母語！". BusinessFocus (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  7. ^ a b 陶嘉心 (28 September 2020). "利君雅睇電視學廣東話 會考中文奪A 少數族裔背景曾惹歧視". HK01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  8. ^ "LC Paper No. CB(1)2794/09-10" (PDF). Legislative Council. 31 May 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Tongue tied". South China Morning Post. 31 July 2011. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  10. ^ "工會：港台延長利君雅試用期120天 (16:01)". Ming Pao (in Traditional Chinese). 27 September 2020. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Decision to extend RTHK reporter Nabela Qoser's probation is 'very unfair,' union says". Coconuts Hong Kong. 28 September 2020. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  12. ^ Grundy, Tom (27 September 2020). "RTHK reporter who grilled Hong Kong Chief Exec. Carrie Lam investigated again, probation extended". Hong Kong Free Press. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  13. ^ "【元朗襲擊．短片】襲擊後10多小時見傳媒 記者起哄促林鄭月娥「講人話」". Ming Pao (in Traditional Chinese). 22 July 2019. Archived from the original on 15 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  14. ^ "特首強烈譴責元朗站暴力襲擊 促警務處處長全力緝兇". TVB News (in Traditional Chinese). 22 July 2019. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  15. ^ "利君雅追擊特首林鄭月娥 網友激讚：良心記者". HK01 (in Traditional Chinese). 22 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  16. ^ 吳婉英 (7 August 2019). "利君雅再「爆seed」 警方拒交代7.21元朗恐襲應變詳情、認8.5遲4小時處理北角打鬥". Citizen News (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  17. ^ 陳栢宇 (8 August 2019). "利君雅傳因「太寸」禁採訪警方記招 工會：相關同事沒受任何壓力". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  18. ^ a b c "Equality watchdog slams online slurs aimed at local journalist of South Asian descent". Coconuts Hong Kong. 22 January 2020. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  19. ^ 羅家晴 (14 January 2020). "【視點31】遺憾未能對話黃秋生 何君堯：獨立調查即管照做". HK01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  20. ^ "與利君雅再辯 721 何君堯堅持「林卓廷帶人挑釁」 回應白衣人早出現：我無辦法知悉". Stand News (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 14 January 2020. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  21. ^ "港台重啟投訴調查 延長利君雅試用 「高層蒐集投訴拒納讚賞信」 消息：行政機關施壓". Ming Pao (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 28 September 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  22. ^ "Nabela Qoser accepts 3-month contract with RTHK". The Standard. 30 January 2021. Archived from the original on 30 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  23. ^ "RTHK strips Nabela Qoser of civil service contract". RTHK. 22 January 2021. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  24. ^ Cheng, Selina. "RTHK tells reporter who asked tough questions of officials to accept short-term contract or face dismissal". Hong Kong Free Press. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  25. ^ Chau, Candice (28 January 2021). "Video: RTHK staff union stages silent demo in support of journalist Nabela Qoser who grilled gov't officials". Hong Kong Free Press. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  26. ^ "港台工會獲確認電視部員工利君雅不獲續約 – RTHK" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). RTHK. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  27. ^ RTHK gets rid of reporter Nabela Qoser Archived 3 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine, RTHK, 3 May 2021
  28. ^ "RTHK is criticized as "dictatorship" for disengaging Nabela's employment and deleting old YT programs". Liberty Times (in Traditional Chinese). Associated Press. 4 May 2021. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  29. ^ Qiu Guo-qiang, Yang Sheng-ru (6 May 2021). "Hong Kong Human Rights Press Awards announced, Cai Yuling and Nabela Qoser won under duress [Video]" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). CNA. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  30. ^ "Bao Choy's 7.21 documentary wins human rights prize". RTHK. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  31. ^ "網上留言屢辱利君雅種族膚色 平機會關注 促網絡營辦商杜絕仇恨信息". Stand News. 21 January 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
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