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To file a complaint with the PO is free of charge. The Press Ombudsman also answers questions from the public on matters of press ethics.
A newspaper which has been found to violate good newspaper practice is expected to publish the findings of the Press Council or the PO. It may also have to pay an administrative fine.
During recent years roughly 400 complaints have been registered annually, often related to coverage of criminal proceedings and intrusion into the private life of individuals. About 30% of the complaints have been adjudicated by the Press Council after either transfer by the PO or appeal by one of the parties involved. The remainder have either resulted in the censure of the newspaper concerned by the PO or have been written off for different reasons, e.g. that the complaints were unsubstantiated or because the newspaper had printed a correction. Approximately 25% of all complaints have resulted in the censure of the newspaper in question by either the PO or the Press Council.
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The Swedish Institute,
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This fact sheet is produced as part of the Swedish information service abroad and is intended to be used for reference purposes. It may be freely used in preparing articles, speeches, broadcasts, etc. No acknowledgment is necessary. Please note the date of publication.
(Mr. PAO Ping-wing left the meeting at 3.35 p.m.)
MR. JOSEPH Y. S. CHAN (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman,
Appointment of Commissioner for Administration
1.
(1) Limitations of the existing avenues of complaint:
At present, though District Offices, District Boards, the Urban and Regional Councils, the Office of the Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils (OMELCO) and the Independent Commission Against Corruption are accessible to members of the public for complaints, none of them is specially responsible for handling public grievances. Some are hampered by their limited power to investigate and affix the responsibilities of high-level officials, while others are influenced by senior officials due to their close relationship with the government functionally. Thus, complaints can only be made against dereliction of duties of the minor staff. Hardly can a complainant expect to have his cases handled properly by the existing complaints system when it comes to maladministration of senior officials or faults in central government administration.
(2) Limitations of the avenues of appeal:
Theoretically members of the public can appeal to the Courts through legal procedures to seek judicial review of administrative decisions of the government, or even turn to the Secretary of State
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or the Queen in Council. But appeal through these avenues involves a lot of money which the general public could hardly afford.
(3) Keeping in line with future changes of Hong Kong:
The public in Hong Kong can neither appeal to the Secretary of State nor the Queen in Council anymore after 1 July 1997. Appeals have to be lodged with the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the State Council of Beijing. Should a Commissioner for Administration be appointed and conferred with statutory power to properly handle public complaints against maladministration, the number of petitions to Beijing could be reduced.
The Commissioner for Administration should be granted special power. If, because of some measures of the future government, the human rights and freedoms the local public used to enjoy are seriously jeopardized, the Commissioner for Administration should have the duty to seek redress for the people, even by resorting to the International Court.
In view of the limitations of the existing avenues of complaint and appeal, and the yet to be fully democratized Councils, and also the need to cope with future developments, Hong Kong should have an independent authority with special statutory powers to handle complaints against maladministration. The post of Commissioner of Administration could be concurrently held by the deputy governor who reports directly to the Governor. He can either be appointed by the Governor, elected or produced by consultation.
Jurisdiction of a Commissioner for Administration: The Commissioner for Administration should differ from the existing statutory complaints systems in terms of powers and functions. The Commissioner should coordinate with, rather than hampering the development of the existing systems. He should have the power to protect the public from government or political persecution, to redress any injustice, and to guarantee the people human rights and freedoms.
To consolidate Hong Kong's statutory system of complaint, we should adopt a tiered system starting from the District Boards upwards to the Urban and Regional Councils, the OMELCO, and finally the Commissioner for Administration. The Commissioner deals only with complaints which the lower level organizations fail to handle.
The Commissioner for Administration should have powers to: (1) interview the officials involved for oral or written testimony, and order submission of confidential documents;
(2) investigate court verdicts and demand explanations from the Legal Department;
(3) criticize government policies and suggest ways of improvement;