TNAG-0259-FCO40-295-Legislation-for-prevention-of-bribery-in-Hong-Kong-1970 — Page 157

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[THE ATTORNEY GENERAL] Public Order (Amendment) Bill-

second reading

into account, as must be done, our circumstances at the present time. If these change, or experience of the working of the bill discloses gaps, or provisions which prove unfair or oppressive, then the Government will be ready and willing to consider suitable amendment."

After the bill became law, representations about a number of its provisions were received from the Law Society, the Bar Association and the Hong Kong branch of Justice. These have been carefully considered and many of the amendments included in this bill stem from the comments of these bodies, and particularly of Justice. All of them have been consulted on the bill and have offered no comments, save one which has been accepted and embodied in the bill before Council.

Many of the amendments which are proposed in this bill are based on a recognition that some of the provisions of the Ordinance confer unnecessarily wide powers in ordinary times and that, in a few instances, there may be a risk that innocent persons may become involved in offences. In an emergency situation, of course, the Government might be obliged to resort to emergency regulations, and would not hesitate to do so if it considered that the maintenance of order so required. However, it is felt that the lessening of certain powers achieved by this bill is desirable in ordinary circumstances.

I should like to add, however, that there is no evidence to suggest that, in fact, there has been any abuse of the powers conferred by this Ordinance, or that persons have been wrongly convicted, or unreason- ably prosecuted, in spite of the wide terms in which some of its sections of the principal Ordinance are drawn.

Objection has been taken that the definition of "meeting", which determines what public meetings need to be licensed, is in too wide terms. Consequently, clause 2 provides a new definition, which is limited to meetings in which there is a degree of organization, either before or during the meeting, and excludes a casual gathering of persons in a public place, which would be a meeting under the present definition and thus strictly require a licence. The new definition will also exclude any meeting which is held for the purposes of any Ordin- ance, such as a court sitting or a creditor's meeting.

Although, in general, any public meeting or public procession requires a licence under section 7 of the Ordinance, there are already excluded from this requirement religious meetings and meetings for entertainment or in theatres, cinemas and similar places. Clause 4