6
Governor: I can only refer in a broad sense and say that the proposals we've put to the Chinese are based, of course, on principals which are entirely consistent with the Joint Declaration and the International Covenants. You are dealing here with concerns which I don't seriously think bother anybody before 1997. We have an Official Secrets Act on our statute book which is based on the former British Law. It may be of some relevance that, I believe I am right in saying, that it's never actually been used which perhaps give some indication of the extent to which the concerns apply to the future rather than the present. But as part of our adaptation of law's exercise we've drawn up proposals which we think would make sense in today's circumstances in Hong Kong and which certainly are in line, as I said earlier, with the sacred texts and I hope that we receive a sensible response and a constructive response from the Chinese
side.
Question: Governor, ....you will have time to introduce an access to information law? A number of organisations people regard it as a matter of urgency. Will you have time?
Governor: What we've proposed and what we're applying is a non-statutory code which has so far worked extremely well. One or two of our newspapers have tested it and the Morning Post did so in an article a few months back and I think was favourably impressed by the responses that are received. It's been tested over 200 times by individuals and in most cases I think they would regard the consequences as having been satisfactory. We're moving quite a long way, pretty rapidly, in Hong Kong and all the time trying to balance the efficiency and continued effectiveness of Government with the importance of opening up Government and making it more accountable and I think on the code of practice which was drawn up with the advice of Canadian consultants who'd been much involved in freedom of the press, freedom of Government information issues in Canada, I think that that code is working pretty well and is the right way forward for the time being.
Question (Lucy Chan, Apple Daily): You know a case for Apply Daily may be heard in Hong Kong but not heard in the world and in the Asia Regions. For our newspaper we were forbidden to cover news in China for half a year, since we start our newspaper. So can Hong Kong Government do anything on that and what kind of train is now threatening Hong Kong news media things? Like we are not allowed to go there and may not be allowed in the future.
Governor: To go to China?
Question (Lucy Chan, Apple Daily): To cover news. We have no permission.