Filmmaker and Reporter Sentenced To 15-Months Jail in Hong Kong for Carrying Pocket Multi-Tool
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Heyson Tang Cheuk-yu, the Specials Director of Taiwan Public Television Service, was charged with possessing assault weapons in public places. On Dec. 21, 2022, he was found guilty and sentenced to 15 months in jail.
The Epoch Times reporter followed Tang for the past three months to learn more about his journey before he was sentenced.
Siege of Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Nov. 2019 was the height of clashes between the Hong Kong Police and protesters in the history of the Hong Kong anti-extradition movement. The one-week siege ended in flames as the police entrapped citizens on the campus using guns, tear gas bombs, and liquids in water cannon tanks.
Protesters and police clashed around the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong (PolyU). The police launched water cannon tanks filled with blue-colored tear gas liquid and fired tear gas bombs at the student protesters simultaneously.
The police closed off and surrounded the entrances and exits on the campus using water cannon tanks. Students, reporters, staff, and medics were cornered with nowhere to go. Police later locked down PolyU completely.
Journalists could only leave by showing their press passes. Only a few could escape safely during the PolyU Siege. Hong Kong Police arrested 810 protesters on campus.
Arrested for Carrying a Pocket Multi-Tool
Tang was one of the arrestees, filming alone that night. He was charged with possession of assault weapons in public places.
Other than filming equipment, police found cable ties, foldable multi-purpose tools, and a laser pen in Tang’s belongings. Police accused him of carrying “offensive weapons.”
In Tang’s testimony, he said that the foldable multi-purpose tool was for his filming equipment.
Tang said he would tighten loose screws with the screwdriver of the pocket tool; he also used the foldable pliers to remove broken lens fragments carefully. As for the foldable knife, Tang used it to cut cable wires and tapes.
Tang added that the seven cable ties police found in his belongings were reusable cables to buckle pieces of equipment onto the body to protect the equipment.
He also specified that the laser pen was used for pointing his colleagues in the right direction, for the interviewee’s standing position and production markings.
Despite Tang’s detailed explanation of the tools he had, the judge thought the pliers and laser pens were not necessary for Tang’s job.
Tang said he was filled with perpetual rage when the police put the handcuffs on him.
Last Days of Freedom
Tang graduated with a major in film and art from the department of communication at the Baptist University of Hong Kong in 2016.
Tang’s passion sparked in making documentaries. In the past six years, Tang directed dozens of movies and films that delved into societal issues, primarily documentaries or feature films.
In October 2019, Tang was commissioned by the program department of Taiwan Television Public Services to direct and produce a program, Inside the Arts, along with Hong Kong independent filmmaker Nora Lam.
On Nov 17, 2019, one month after his commission work began, Tang was arrested while filming near the campus during the PolyU siege.
Tormented by Approaching Trial
The past three years for Tang were not easy. Uneasiness and worries rose as the trial date approached. Whenever Tang had to report to the police station, he said his anxiety would worsen.
Like many Hongkongers, Tang had lost faith in the rule of law in Hong Kong.
Many people on the sideline supported Tang and reassured him that he had done nothing wrong.
The only thing he could do was to completely drown himself in work, to the point where he would be too tired to think.
Whenever the Epoch Times reporter met with Tang, he tried hard to bring positivity and bury negativity. Tang used his work to numb his complex feelings. “I am not as strong as people think I am. I just know I cannot give up,” Tang expressed.
Tang began to hide away and isolate himself from others gradually. His passion was no longer the same as it once was. Even if there was work in front of him, his mind or motivation was nowhere to be found. He said, “I threw myself into a black hole.”
‘We Can Begin the Fight Again’
It was finally time for the trial. As Tang stood in court, he felt like he was attending a public exam.
Tang said his soul was drained once he gave his testimony. He had always believed the case would be in his favor until he gave his testimony.
Facing an unknown future before the verdict, though Tang knew it was not a death sentence, powerlessness still clouded his life.
Tang did not feel the impact, possibly because it was not his sentencing day. Before his trial, Tang had to sort through lists of books, visitors, and pleading letters just in case he would be sent to prison.
A day before his sentencing, Tang shared a post on his social media. His farewell message primarily informed his loved ones about what would happen once he was sent to prison.
Tang wrote, “I wonder: How will Hong Kong and the rest of the world change when I am released from jail?”
He reminded everyone to care for themselves, for they would see each other again soon.
Tang ended his note, “Let me rest now. So later, we can begin the fight again.”
