The Witness, a Hong Kong legal journalism outlet established in 2022 by former court reporters, launched an online store on August 17, 2025, using a pay-what-you-want pricing model for books, bags and other merchandise. The funding mechanism allows the publication to sustain operations while keeping all court reporting freely accessible to readers.
The store represents one of the latest attempts to maintain independent legal journalism in Hong Kong’s increasingly constrained media landscape. Since 2019, press freedom restrictions have forced the closure of multiple news outlets and prompted the departure of numerous court reporters, leaving many legal proceedings without media coverage and limiting public access to information about cases affecting civil liberties.
The Witness (法庭線) specializes in documenting trials, hearings and verdicts in Hong Kong courts, with particular focus on human rights cases and matters of public interest that receive limited attention from other outlets.
