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Mr President, I urge Members to support our amendments and to vote against the two amendments to be proposed by Reverend the Honourable Fung Chi-wood and the Honourable Cheung Man-kwong.
Mr President, with these remarks, I recommend the Bill to Members.
End/Wednesday, July 19, 1995
Bills to protect freedom and public morality passed
The Secretary for Recreation and Culture, Mr James So, has moved a number of committee stage amendments to three new bills at the Legislative Council meeting today (Wednesday).
The three bills were the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles (Amendment) Bill 1995. the Film Censorship (Amendment) Bill 1995 and the Public Entertainment and Amusement (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 1995. "They all carry a common theme to safeguard the freedom of expression and, at the same time, take into account the need to protect public morality, decency and propriety," said Mr So.
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Speaking at the resumption of the second reading debates of the bills, Mr So thanked members of the respective Bills Committee for their hard work and valuable contributions to refining the bills.
Although the Government was unable to accommodate all the views and suggestions of Legislative Councillors, the various parties concerned and individuals, he believed the bills, with the committee stage amendments, now represented the community's consensus.
On the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles (Amendment) Bill, Mr So noted that a large number of suggestions had been received from the community on how obscene and indecent articles should be controlled.
"In considering all these suggestions, we always adhere to the principle of maintaining freedom of expression through a system that imposes the minimum restrictions necessary.