DRAFT SPEECH BY HON DESMOND LEE YU TAT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 18-5.88
Film Censorship B 1988
MR.DESMOND LEE:
Sir,
Second Reading of stir
Le
la
As the Ad Hoc group to study Film Classification and Zensorship held so many meetings (37 to be exact), including consultation with the Administration and the industry, most of the issues have been resolved. I shall speak on only the
damage good relations clause and the reference to Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which deals with the principle of freedom of expression.
There is specific mention of this International Covenant in the Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong.
It is therefore the common intention of both Britain and China that the people of the future Hong Kong Special Administrative Region should enjoy the privileges and rights which are provided by this Covenant. For this reason, if the "damage good relations clause is to be included, the legislation must contain sufficient safeguard that the commitment to compliance of this covenant will be honoured. The safeguard must be
spelt spelled out in unequivocal terms which leave as little room as possible for different interpretations. The intention behind the Joint Declaration can be realized only in this way. are two formulations of this Bill arising from the International Lovenant, namely the taking into account✩
version and the compliance" version. I would prefer the latter because it does not allow too much personal judgment which may lead to variations in censorship standards.
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TVA.
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