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4. L
There is no doubt that in Hong Kong great importance is attached to the law in this field. The common law has an essential part to play not only in safeguarding freedom of expression, but also in ensuring that victims of the abuse of freedom of expression are protected and that the interests of the community as a whole are not threatened by stirring up alarm or violence among ordinary Members
of the community.
There is no doubt that among our
Ordinances, on this topic as on some others, one can find provisions which were introduced to meet some transient problem and which no longer have a part to play in the modern prosperous and stable community which Hong Kong has become.
Both Mr. Richard Lai and Miss Maria Tam
drew attention to the Control of Publications Consolidation Ordinance which as Miss Tam pointed out, was a "product of the historical and political realities of the 1950's". It was enacted in 1951, to replace emergency legislation which preceded it, against the background of political upheaval in China. It was a time when there was much concern that the security of the territory might be damaged by seditious or subversive material published locally. The provisions of this Ordinance have only very rarely been used and for nearly 20 years, not at all. Some of them overlap with other provisions of the criminal law anyway.
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