KONG
Room
Strand Palace Hotel,
\Tel: 836 8080.
The Foreign Correspondents' Club, Hong Kong North Block, No. 2 Lower Albert Road, Hong Kong
Tel: 5-211511
Cables: "CORCLUB"
whose membership
includes
The Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club, representatives of most of the world's major publications. television and
news
agencies,
03
Well
local
journalists,
radio networks and turbed by the recently-enacted Public Order Amendment Ordinance.
is dis-
Although the bulk of this measure
weeks was published mand
thus
giving
ample time
for discussion:
one
days before
the
This clause
to cause alarm to the public or
shall be guilty of
vital
lengthy debate which mode it
is likely states: "Any person who publishes false
section thereof or disturb public order
clouse oniy
in advance,
appeared Q
0. tew
law.
which news
offence,
=
K
1
jail. Punishable by two years'
The Ordinance does not define
11
of proof of
innocence
anyone UPON
+alse news" and, in effect lays the burden
to have The Ordinance
accused.
been badly drafted (the original version had included the word "maliciously”
but the OPProved version appears to disregard motive).
enacted
in
legislation: an English statute
1275. But even that was
a
There is Precedent for this kind of
known as
"Scandalum Magnatum"
-: ד .!
finally finally repealed in 1888.
Informally, the attitude of the Hong Kong Government seems to be that
nobody has to
will not be invoked.
Worry becouse the clause
there 13 NO need for it at all.
If that 13
It 1 S
long
very 0
stronge Piece of legislation for a Colony which was
chosen
not
090
course: 0.
as the venue
Colony which
for a
Will
Commonwealth law conference.
be taken over
also, of 13
by the Chinese Government in
I t
just over ten years'
time.
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