HONG KONG JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION
香港記者協會
Sir David Ford
Chief Secretary
Government Secretariat
Lower Albert Road,
Hong Kong
17th November, 1989.
Dear Sir David,
the
The Hong Kong Journalists Association is happy to learn that
the colony. administration plans to enact a bill of rights for We see this as something highly essential and long overdue.
One of the HKJA's primary concerns is development relating to the When the HKJA freedom of expression and freedom of the press. made a submission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in attention to some October last year, we drew the committee's
amended ΟΙ
outdated and draconian laws which we felt should be repealed. We conveyed a similar message to the House of Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) which conducted an Hong Kong earlier this year.
Commons
inquiry on
and will soon and Recreation
We are currently studying the Television Ordinance
for be
to the Secretary making submissions Culture, Mr Augustine Chui, and the Chairman of the Authority, Sir Roger Lobo. We are encouraged that expressed concern over that ordinance to Sir Geoffrey Sir David Wilson when the two appeared before the London.
Broadcasting FAC members Howe and committee in
An area of more recent concern is the Police Force Ordinance, and warrants. The in particular the section on the issue of search HKJA is concerned about the use of that provision in the light of the two television the recent seizure of raw videotapes from
will
review the stations.
urgently We hope the government relevant provision in the ordinance, with a view to ensuring that adequate safeguards are built into the system. At the moment, the ordinance is too vague, and can therefore be abused, in this case to the detriment of the news media's right to confidentiality.
recent
which was the arrest of
We are also alarmed to learn from the Political Adviser's letter to the New China News Agency Hong Kong Branch published in the South China Morning Post that members of the April 5th Action Group was aimed at convincing the had taken authorities that Chinese
the Hong Kong government
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HK
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Affiliated to the International Federation of Journalists
本會為國際記者聯會成員
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