X
4.
FIRST, HE WILL NEED TO BE SATISFIED THAT WHAT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IS NEWS : 1.E. THAT IT WAS TAKEN BY THOSE WHO HEARD OR READ IT TO
BE AN ASSERTION OF FACT BY THE PERSON PUBLISHING AND CAN FAIRLY BE DESCRIBED AS 'NEWS'. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL WILL APPLY THE DISTINC- TION MADE 60 YEARS AGO BY C.P. SCOTT, FORMER EDITOR OF THE MANCHESTER GUARDIAN : ''COMMENT IS FREE BUT FACTS ARE SACRED''
5.
A DISTINCTION MUST BE DRAWN BETWEEN STATEMENTS WHICH ARE PRES- ENTED AS BEING TRUE AND THOSE WHICH ARE MERELY PRESENTED AS REPORTS OF WHAT SOMEONE ELSE HAS SAID. GENUINE REPORTS OF ''UNCONFIRMED RUMOURS CIRCULATING ...'' ARE THEMSELVES 'NEWS' AND, IF TRUE, WILL BE UNOBJECTIONABLE EVEN IF THE RUMOURS ARE FALSE. SIMILARLY, IF A PUBLIC FIGURE HAS MADE A CERTAIN STATEMENT, A REPORT TO THAT EFFECT WILL BE TRUE EVEN IF THE STATEMENT ITSELF IS FALSE. IN EVERY CASE, THE QUESTION IS: WHAT IS THE FACT BEING ASSERTED?
6. SECONDLY, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL WILL LOOK AT ALL THE CREDIBLE AND ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE AVAILABLE TO THE CROWN TO ASSESS THE LIKEL- IHOOD OF PROVING BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT THAT THE NEWS WAS +NEXT WORD-UNDERLINED) FALSE, IF THE PERSON WHO PUBLISHES, UNDER
INVESTIGATION FOR THE SUSPECTED OFFENCE-CONTINUES TO MAINTAIN THAT THE NEWS IS TRUE, THE EVIDENCE OF FALSITY MUST BE EXAMINED AND TESTED WITH PARTICULAR CARE. THE SECTION IS AIMED AT THE PUBLICATION OF BLATANT FALSEHOODS. A PROSECUTION WILL NOT BE AUTHORISED WHERE THE TRUTH IS UNCERTAIN, AND FALSITY CANNOT REALLY BE PROVED BEYOND QUESTION.
7.
THIRDLY, THE PUBLICATION MUST HAVE MADE THE FALSE NEWS INEXT TWO WORDS UNDERLINED) GENERALLY KNOWN TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC SEMI-COLON IT MUST ANYHOW BE BORNE IN MIND THAT A LIKELIHOOD OF CAUSING PUBLIC ALARM OR DISTURBING PUBLIC ORDER MUST BE SHOWN. CONVERSATIONS AND SPEECHES IN PRIVATE FALL OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF PUBLIC ORDER LEGISLATION UNLESS THE PERSON UTTERING THE FALSE NEWS WAS CLEARLY AWARE OR INTENDED THAT HIS UTTERANCES WOULD BECOME GENERALLY KNOWN TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC. EVEN PUBLIC SPEECHES MAY NOT HAVE THE EFFECT OF MAKING NEWS (NEXT WORD-UNDER- LINED GENERALLY KNOWN UNLESS MADE TO LARGE AUDIENCES OR, AGAIN,
THE SPEAKER CLEARLY KNEW OR INTENDED THAT HIS UTTERANCES WOULD
it
REACH THE GENERAL PUBLIC a section of
B*
FOURTHLY, THERE MUST BE EVIDENCE TO ESTABLISH A LIKELIHOOD OF (NEXT-EIGHT WORDS UNDERLINED) ALARM TO THE PUBLIC OR A SECTION THEREOF OR (NEXT-FOUR-WORDS UNDERLINED)- DISTURBANCE TO PUBLIC ORDER OCCASIONED BY PUBLICATION OF THE FALSE NEWS. WHILST IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO SHOW A LIKELIHOOD OF ALARM TO (NEXT WORD UNDERLINED)- ALL THE PUBLIC, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL WILL NORMALLY NOT BE CONCERNED IF THE IMPACT IS OR MAY BE ON AN INSIGNIFICANT SECTION ONLY. ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO PROVE THAT THE PUBLICATION ACTUALLY CAUSED PUBLIC ALARM OR DISORDER, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IS NOT LIKELY TO AUTHORISE A PROSECUTION IF NO ALARM OR DISORDER IN HONG KONG
APPEARS TO HAVE RESULTED FROM THE PUBLICATION.
-2-
CONFIDENTIAL
will only in
must exceptional circumstameer
the
19.