14
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 1987
MAINTENANCE OF GOOD RELATIONS WITH CHINA IMPORTANT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCILLOR THE HON HELMUT SOHMEN SAID TODAY (WEDNESDAY) THAT WHEN CONSIDERING FILM CENSORSHIP, THE MAINTENANCE OF GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA, ESPECIALLY DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD LEADING UP TO THE CHANGE IN SOVEREIGNTY, WAS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE TO HONG KONG.
SPEAKING IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, MR SOHMEN SAID HE OPPOSED THE MOTION ON FILM CENSORSHIP TABLED BY THE HON MARTIN LEE.
HE ADDED THAT HE DID SO WITH SOME RELUCTANCE AND HE WAS UNEASY ABOUT CENSORSHIP FOR POLITICAL MOTIVE SINCE THE JUDGEMENTS WHICH HAD TO BE MADE BY THE CENSOR WERE MORE DIFFICULT AND MORE PRONE TO ABUSK THAN, FOR EXAMPLE, RESTRAINTS IMPOSED ON THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH FOR MORAL REASONS.
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"MR MARTIN LEE MUST BE GIVEN CREDIT FOR HIGHLIGHTING THE PROBLEMS INHERENT IN THIS ISSUE; I MUST FRANKLY CONFESS THAT IF THIS WAS TOTALLY NEW LEGISLATION WE WERE CONSIDERING
RATHER THAN A QUESTION OF LEGITIMISING, AS AN INTERIM MEASURE, A PRACTICE THAT HAS BEEN GOING FOR SOME TIME I WOULD IN ALL LIKELIHOOD VOTE AGAINST THE INTRODUCTION OF SUCH NEW PROVISIONS, HE SAID.
THIS OF COURSE DID NOT MEAN THAT MR LEE'S ARGUMENTS WERE CORRECT OR FULLY VALID, MR SOHMEN ADDED. HE SAID MR LEE AND THE UK LAWYER WHO GAVE MR LEE LEGAL ADVICE REGARDING THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS HAD APPROACHED THE ISSUE IN TOO LEGALISTIC A FASHION, IN THAT THEY ONLY FOCUSED ON THE FORMAT AND NOT ON THE SUBSTANCE OF WHAT NEEDED TO BE THE LIMITS OF PERMISSIBLE CENSORSHIP.
THIS WAS NOT A MATTER OF FORMALISTIC LEGAL INTERPRETATION BUT CLEARLY REQUIRED A POLITICAL EVALUATION AS то WHETHER THE RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED ON THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION WERE SUFFICIENTLY AND JUSTIFIABLY IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT ALL THE OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE FACTORS GOVERNING A PARTICULAR SITUATION BOTH AS TO TIME AND PLACE, HE SAID.
"EVEN MORE SIMPLISTICALLY PUT, THE COVENANT HAS DRAWN US A SQUARE WHICH CAN BE LEFT ENTIRELY BLANK OR WHICH WE CAN FILL IN WITH AS MANY COLOURS WE CHOOSE, ALL THE WHILE ACCEPTING THE FACT THAT THE BORDERS OF THE SQUARE ONLY DETERMINE THE LIMITS OF THE PAINTED AREA BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE CHOICE OF COLOURS," HE SAID.
HE ADDED THAT HONG KONG WAS IN A RATHER PECULIAR SITUATION, CLAIMING AN ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND CULTURAL BACKGROUND QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THE COUNTRY TO WHICH ETHNICALLY AND GEOGRAPHICALLY THE TERRITORY WAS VERY CLOSE, AND OF WHICH IT LEGALLY SOON WOULD BE AN INTEGRAL PART. THE MAINTENANCE OF GOOD RELATIONS WITH CHINA WAS THEREFORE OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE.
'A CHANGE