SPEECH BY THE SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE IN THE LEGISLATIVÉ COUNCIL ON WEDNESDAY,22 JUNE 1988
Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 1987
SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE.
Six,
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First of all, I would like to thank Mrs. Rosanna Tam and
the other members of the Ad Hoc group for the great deal of
hard work which they have put into the examination of this
important Bill. We have had a series of very productive meetings with the Ad Hoc Group and I am sure that as a result
their
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of its work, the Bill has been considerably improved.
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Several Members have referred to the controversial
nature of this Bill. This is undoubtedly and in my view,
inevitably true. The Mental Health Ordinance provides for the
placing of restrictions on the freedom of movement of
unfortunate people who suffer from various forms of mental
disorder; these restrictions are necessary in the interests of
the patients themselves, and in some cases of the community as
a whole. Such legislation, therefore, represents a compromise
between the need to restrict the activities of such people and
the need to respect their ciyil liberties. Views differ on the
nature of this compromise and much of our discussion with the
le a poc group has been concerned with arriving at a satisfactory
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solution to various problems this area I believe that the