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Any person has the right to petition the Governor or any other senior public officer on matters of a public or private nature. Petitions may either be posted or handed in by a small group at the Governor's residence, or at Government offices, without any prior authorisation. All petitions are thoroughly investigated.
Some petitioners may choose to publicise and reinforce their cause by the staging of marches, demon- strations or public meetings prior to the delivery of a petition. They have the right to do this, provided that they first obtain a licence from the Commissioner of Police. The licensing procedure is necessary to ensure that the general public is not excessively inconvenienced by the march or procession and that public safety is not endangered. It gives the Commissioner adequate notice (seven days notice is required) to make arrangements for the deployment of man- Dower and control of traffic and gives him power to stipulate in the licence such conditions as are necessary to prevent disruption and inconvenience to other members of the public. Procedures for obtaining a licence are regularly brought to the attention of the public in press releases issued by the Police.
Since the beginning of 1978, 62 licences have been issued for public meetings or processions. Only two applications were refused in that period: both related to a lone applicant, with no known associates, who proposed to collect his own crowd as he passed through busy streets.
In the case of recent actions on behalf of the Yaumatei boat dwellers, the Police have exercised restraint. After a series of demonstrations and petitions, 150 boat dwellers and 50 students gathered at Blake Pier on 24th December 1978 with the intention of marching to the Central Government Offices. No permit had been applied for for this march and the Police therefore warned the leader, a student, that a march would be unlawful. After half an hour's discussion the majority of protesters voluntarily dispersed, though a minority remained behind to stage a press conference.
On 7th January 1979, 66 boat people and 11 others again congregated at the Yaumatei Typhoon Shelter. Before entering two hired buses, the protesters were warned by the Police that as they had not applied for and did not hold a permit their intention to present a petition at the Governor's residence in such numbers was again unlawful. They chose to ignore this advice and proceeded, via the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, to Hong Kong Island. On arrival on the Island the buses were stopped by the Police, who warned them again that the intended action was illegal. The Police then advised the protesters that two of their representatives could proceed to the Governor's residence to present the petition on their behalf. Once again the protesters chose to ignore this advice.
/Cont'd.