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9.
(a)
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(b)
(c)
the press might not report the result of the case;
the case might be reported in a newspaper which the relatives and friends did not see;
the case might be reported in a newspaper printed in a language not known to the relatives and friends;
(a) even if the judgment and sentence were reported in a
newspaper normally read by the relatives and friends of the accused, they might miss the item since the date on which judgment and sentence were to be announced might not have been known to them; and
(e)
even if they saw the verdict in a newspaper they might be
doubtful whether it was a true report.
It is undoubtedly the case that during the disturbances of 1967 the courts in Hong Kong had at times to operate in circumstances of extreme difficulty. Indeed, there were occasions when magistrates had been chased by communist-inspired mobs, not only from the court precincts but also from the court itself. The Governor's desire
that all courts should have the sweeping powers conferred by
Sections 122 and 123 is therefore understandable. It is because of the special circumstances obtaining in the Colony that efforts have been made to meet the Governor's wishes as far as can be justified. The two sections are very similar in their effect and if Section 122 were left in its present form, as desired by the Governor, it would mean that any court, when hearing any criminal case except cases in which the court sought to ensure the safety or well-being of a witness or any other person (in which case only Section 123 would apply), could exclude the general public (although not the press) from the whole of the proceedings, including the announcement of sentence, on the grounds that the interests of justice or of public order or security so required. Such a power seems unnecessary and difficult to justify, even in the particular circumstances of Hong Kong, and in the view of Legal Advisers, and of the Department, the amendments mentioned in paragraph 5(a) and (b) above are the minimum to which we could agree. Moreover, it was our impression that agreement on these amendments had, in fact, been reached in our discussions with the Attorney General,
Hong Kong, last August.
10. The Governor's reasons for asking that any amendment of the two
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