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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 (Chinese: 利君雅; born 6 July 1986) is a Hong Kong journalist and broadcaster. Until end of May 2021, she is Assistant Programme Officer at Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and co-hosts the RTHK talk show[clarification needed] This Week. She is the first Cantonese-language news reporter of non-ethnic Chinese descent in Hong Kong. She attracted media attention in 2019 following her outspoken questioning of government officials.

Biography

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.[1] 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.[2]

As of 2010, Qoser is a member of the Society for Cultural Integration, an organisation which advocates for multiculturalism in Hong Kong.[3]

Career

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.[2] After having worked at Cable TV, in 2011 Qoser joined TVB News as a reporter,[4] sometimes presenting News at 6:30. She left TVB in 2015 and joined Ming Pao as a journalist.[1]

RTHK

Qoser joined RTHK as Assistant Programme Officer on 3 October 2017.[5] As of September 2020, she hosts the current affairs talk show This Week [zh] on RTHK TV 31.[6]

Qoser attracted media attention following her questioning of government officials over the 2019 Yuen Long attack.[7] 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);[8] Qoser also questioned government officials whether they were able to sleep well at night following the attack.[9] 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).[10]

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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14] 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.[15] Following the interview, some followers of pro-Ho group "Silent Majority" directed racially charged comments at Qoser.[13]

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.[6] According to information obtained by Ming Pao, the decision was made following pressure from executive organs external to RTHK.[16]

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.[17] 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".[18][19] On 28 January, over 50 RTHK staff members joined a silent protest, organized by the Staff Union, in support of Qoser.[20]

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.[21][22]

Online harassment

Qoser had been subject to attacks by the pro-Beijing camp since the start of the 2019 protests, with users leaving comments on pro-Beijing social media pages targeting her skin colour and ethnicity. 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.[23][13]

References

  1. ^ 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).
  2. ^ 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)).
  3. ^ "LC Paper No. CB(1)2794/09-10" (PDF). Legislative Council. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Tongue tied". South China Morning Post. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  5. ^ "工會：港台延長利君雅試用期120天 (16:01)". Ming Pao (in Traditional Chinese). 27 September 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Decision to extend RTHK reporter Nabela Qoser's probation is 'very unfair,' union says". Coconuts Hong Kong. 28 September 2020.
  7. ^ Grundy, Tom (27 September 2020). "RTHK reporter who grilled Hong Kong Chief Exec. Carrie Lam investigated again, probation extended". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  8. ^ "【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. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ 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).
  12. ^ 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)).
  13. ^ a b c "Equality watchdog slams online slurs aimed at local journalist of South Asian descent". Coconuts Hong Kong. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ 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)). Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  15. ^ "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. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ "Nabela Qoser accepts 3-month contract with RTHK". The Standard. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  18. ^ "RTHK strips Nabela Qoser of civil service contract". rthk.hk. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  19. ^ Cheng, Selina. "RTHK tells reporter who asked tough questions of officials to accept short-term contract or face dismissal". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  20. ^ 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. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  21. ^ "港台工會獲確認電視部員工利君雅不獲續約 - RTHK". news.rthk.hk (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  22. ^ RTHK gets rid of reporter Nabela Qoser, RTHK, 2021-05-03
  23. ^ "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.
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