Hong Kong Accountability Archive

Jimmy Lai case shows how China is rewriting Hong Kong’s history The judges convicted Lai of colluding with foreigners to boost the pro-democracy movement. Donald Trump’s name is mentioned 195 times in their verdict.

"The ruling represents a capstone in the ongoing effort to rewrite the history of Hong Kong, its pro-democracy movement and even of Lai himself — using the once-respected courts as the final word in this narrative revision." @shibanim.bsky.social

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

Photojournalist group axes exhibition after university pulls venue The Hong Kong Press Photographers Association (HKPPA) has called off an exhibition after Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) pulled its venue, citing "emergency maintenance."

The chilling effect of draconian laws, political prosecutions, and censorship are why independent archives are so important in preserving the public record.

"Hong Kong photojournalist group axes exhibition after university pulls venue, citing 'emergency maintenance'" hongkongfp.com/2025/11/24/h...

We are very proud that Graphicacy's work building @hkaccountability.bsky.social data visualisation tool has been recognised at The Anthem Awards for 'Best Use of Data' in the Human & Civil Rights category. It was an absolute pleasure to work with their amazing team.

Archiving as a Form of Resistance in Asia-Pacific - WITNESS Blog When repression silences voices, how do communities make sure their stories survive? When protests erupt, who decides what gets remembered and what is erased? These were the urgent questions shaping o...

"When repression silences voices, how do communities make sure their stories survive? When protests erupt, who decides what gets remembered and what is erased?"

blog.witness.org/2025/10/huma...

Very happy to be partnering with Qurium Media Foundation as they celebrate their 15th anniversary and launch their 'One Globe' platform - a visual representation of their global network. Having them support the HKAA website provides peace of mind, knowing it is in safe hands.

www.qurium.org

At HKAA we know that sometimes police accountability takes time. A long time. But when that opportunity arises we need to be ready. That’s why we preserve evidence of excessive use of force by the HKPF during the 2019 protests.

Over 920,000 reports made to national security hotline in past 4 years: Security chief Hong Kong police's national security hotline received over 920,000 reports over the past four years, security chief Chris Tang has said.

'Paul Lam, said the exhibition [marking 5th anniversary of the NSL's implementation] shows the "historical truth” of the 2019 protests.'

The truth is there's been no independent inquiry and that no police officer has been held accountable for excessive use of force.

hongkongfp.com/2025/06/13/o...

New Visualization Preserves Data from Hong Kong Flashpoints When Hong Kong citizens engaged in largely peaceful protests over a new extradition law, police responded with violence. Videos captured…

Thanks to Graphicacy who partnered with us to build the data visualization component of the Hong Kong Accountability Archive. Check out why we wanted to build this part of the archive site and how Graphicacy helped us realise our vision.

medium.com/graphicacy/n...

We've also grouped the "parent" and "child" tags so it is clearer how they are linked, e.g. Police Action > Use of Force Restrained? > No.

Tags in HKAA's video archive are now easier to read.

They are now in alphabetical order by top tag type and color-coded: Assembly (Orange); Actor (Yellow); Location (Pink); Civilian action (Green); Police action (Grey); and Source (Purple).

In an unprecedented case, Hong Kong police arrested Kwok Yin-Sang, the father of prominent exiled pro-democracy activist Anna Kwok.

The Hong Kong government should drop all charges against Kwok Yin-Sang, free him immediately, and stop harassing Anna Kwok.

Why are some videos in the Hong Kong Accountability Archive private?

While many videos are publicly accessible on HKAA some are held privately due to security and copyright concerns. Access to these videos can be requested via an online form, with requests subject to a rigorous approval process.

HKAA allows users to search based on whether a warning was given by the police when they used force, whether the warning was given before or after force was used, and what type of warning was issued. (5/5)

It is important that assembly participants are given a warning before force is used, giving them the opportunity to take action so to avoid harm. E.g. if they're instructed by the police to disperse or they'll use force the crowd should be given reasonable time to comply before force is used. (4/5)

Purple - warns that offences under national security laws are being committed and you may be arrested.

Orange - declares "disperse or we will fire."

Red - Instructs protesters to "stop charging or we use force".

Yellow - declares "you are in breach of the law and may be prosecuted." (3/5)

Black - declares "warning tear smoke" and is deployed before the police use tear gas.

Blue - declares an assembly to be unlawful, warning of a deployment of force unless protesters disperse immediately (2/5)

What warnings does the Hong Kong Police Force give during public assemblies and why does it matter?

The HKPF uses various warning flags during demonstrations to communicate specific messages to the public. There are six different coloured flags: (1/5)

International standards state police may only use force when strictly necessary.

HKAA allows users to search for all types of force used by the Hong Kong police during the 2019 protests and filters for 1) whether a warning was given before force was used and 2) whether the force was excessive.

In both the Archive and Data View on the HKAA site users can use the LNO filter to search for content based on whether a protest was authorised by the police or not and compare the actions taken by both the police and assembly participants. (3/3)

This requirement is a conditional permission for exercising the right to peaceful assembly. International standards say this right should be presumed, not granted, raising concerns about potential overreach and limitations on fundamental freedoms. (2/3)

What is a “Letter of No Objection’ or LNO? A ‘letter of no objection’ is a document issued by the Hong Kong Police Force under the Public Order Ordinance, giving permission for public gatherings or processions to proceed. (1/3)

Thanks for sharing! 🙏🏻

「香港問責檔案庫」網站的表格檢視將影片及數據檢視功能連結在一起。用戶按下地圖、事件或時序檢視的圓圈後，就會顯示一個有更多詳細資料的表格，以及檔案庫中相關影片的連結。請觀看這條教學影片。

The Archive and Data view components of the HKAA site are linked through the Table view. By clicking on a circle in Map, Incident or Timeline you are taken to a table with more detailed data and links to relevant videos in the archive. Watch this video for more info.

時序檢視讓用戶查看2019年香港反修例運動按日子、星期、月份的發展。用戶可以按地點、行動及日子來生成時序，也可以用示威是否獲警察批准、警察在使用武力前有否作出警告等條件來過濾事件。

Timeline view allows users to visualize how the 2019 protests in Hong Kong evolved over days, weeks and months. Timelines can be created based on locations, actions and dates as well as using filters on whether a protest was authorized by the police or if the they gave a warning before using force.

「香港問責檔案庫 HKAA」的事件檢視工具讓用戶查看2019年香港反修例運動期間示威者和警察的行動。事件分為三個種類：拘捕、示威者行動、（警察的）武力使用。請觀看這條教學影片。

The Incidents view allows you to explore actions taken by protesters and police during the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Incidents are broken down into three broad categories—Arrest, Disruption (by protesters) and Use of Force (by the police). Watch this video for more info.

在2019年反修例運動期間，警察在甚麼地方使用了最多催淚彈？哪一天的拘捕數字是最高的？警察處理批准或未經批准示威的手法有甚麼分別？地圖工具讓用戶以一系列的搜尋條件來發掘數據，分析示威事件。

During the 2019 protests in Hong Kong where was the most tear gas used? Which locations saw the highest number of arrests? How did the protests vary in different parts of the city? The Map tool allows users to mine data using a range of search terms to provide insights into the protests.