XN000022-1987-07-08 — Page 15

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 1987

MOST DID

MR CHEONG NOTED THAT SOME HAD REASONED THAT THEY COULD PROBABLY TRUST THE ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE BRITISH FLAG BUT THEY HAVE SERIOUS RESERVATIONS ABOUT THE ADMINISTRATION AFTER 1997 FOR IT WAS FEARED THAT IT COULD THEN INDISCRIMINATELY APPLY SUCH CENSORSHIP REGULATIONS TO SUPPRESS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN HONG KONG.

HE SAID IT WAS PERHAPS UNDERSTANDABLE OR EVEN NATURAL FOR SOME PEOPLE TO HAVE RESERVATIONS ABOUT THE SITUATION AFTER 1997.

IF

"HOWEVER, IT WILL BE DISASTROUS FOR THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG WE WERE TO TAKE ON EVERY ISSUE ONLY WITH THE ATTITUDE OF UNMOVABLE DISTRUST WHILST SHUNTING OFF THE VALUE OF OBJECTIVE PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUES INVOLVED, ' HE SAID.

MR CHEONG WENT ON TO SAY THAT THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL AD HOC GROUP SET UP TO STUDY FILM CLASSIFICATION AND CENSORSHIP DID NOT COME TO THE DECISION LIGHTLY IN RECOMMENDING THE INTERIM MEASURES TO THE COUNCIL. IT HAD DONE SO AFTER A LOT OF WORK, DELIBERATION AS WELL AS THOUGHT BY MEMBERS.

HE SAID WHAT WAS IMPORTANT WAS THAT THERE SEEMED TO BE A CONSENSUS OF UNDERSTANDING REACHED AT LEAST AMONGST THE MAJORITY OF NON-LAWYER MEMBERS OF THE GROUP.

THE

THE CONSENSUS WAS THAT THE TWO SEEMINGLY DIFFERENT LEGAL OPINIONS, ONE BY THE FCO AND THE OTHER BY THE HON MARTIN LEE'S CONSULTANT, REPRESENTED DIFFERENT ANGLES OF EMPHASIS AND DIFFERENT APPROACHES IN THE INTERPRETATION OF THE NEW REGULATIONS VIS A VIS VIOLATION OR OTHERWISE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT, CASE HAD BEEN OR COULD BE ESTABLISHED BEYOND DOUBT APPROACH WAS THE ONLY RIGHT APPROACH, HE NOTED.

NO CLEAR CUT AS ΤΟ WHICH

JUDGEMENT ON

"UNDER THAT CIRCUMSTANCES, IN HAVING TO EXERCISE THIS ISSUE, WE CAN ONLY BE GUIDED BY OUR OWN PERCEPTION OF WHAT IS AND WHAT IS NOT IN THE BEST INTERESTS FOR HONG KONG AS A SAID.

WHOLE, HE

HE SAID THAT THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THE INTERIM MEASURES OR INDEED THE NEW REGULATIONS, IF ADOPTED, WOULD CONTRAVENE THE PROVISIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT SEEMED TO HIM TO BE NO MORE THAN A TOOL DEPLOYED TO CONSOLIDATE OR PERHAPS EVEN TO PROPAGATE ONE'S OWN DISTRUST OF THE POST-1997 ADMINISTRATION.

HE SAID THIS APPROACH WAS NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF HONG KONG. TOO DEEP-SEATED A DISTRUST COULD EASILY LEAD TO UNWARRANTED IMAGINATIONS AND SUSPICIONS WHICH IN TURN WOULD CREATE UNNECESSARY BARRIERS TO SMOOTH SOLUTIONS OF ANY FUTURE DIFFERENCE OF OPINIONS BETWEEN HONG KONG AND THE SOVEREIGN STATE.

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