TNAG-1688-FCO40-2338-Hong-Kong-legislation-regarding-the-control-of-publications--1987 — Page 198

Mr. Martin LEE : Sir, is the Chief Secretary

referring to

paragraph 8 of this note of the meeting held on 20 August 1986

where this sentence

appears: "At present the

censorship of

films was left to

authority was not defined legally"? If he were indeed

referring to this sentence, then would he please explain how he

would expect members present at that meeting to understand that

in fact for many, many years the Government Censor had been

acting illegally according to its own legal advice?

the discretion of the Film Censor whose

Chief Secretary

Sir, I wasn't present at the meeting and I

am relying upon the authorised version of the minutes which I

have indeed read from. I understand that this matter was

discussed at that meeting. I would also point out, Sir, that

it was not the intention of the Administration to keep this

Council in the dark about the political sensitivity involved.

Indeed, as I have mentioned in my previous answer, it was very

much in the mind of Government that when the Secretary for

Administrative Services and Information discussed these matters

with the ad

ad hoc group, the background to the whole situation

would be discussed as indeed it was.