TNAG-1690-FCO40-2340-Hong-Kong-legislation-regarding-the-control-of-publications--1987 — Page 117

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must be upheld anytime, anywhere.

If we use this as an excuse, and

that is that we should plug a loophole during the vacuum period, then why don't we repeal this clause on political censorship first, and then after discussion when we believe that it isn't really necessary to be kept, add it once more to the Bill?

In fact, a lot of people who are against the Bill today 7 may not have expressed their stand on political censorship very

explicitly, but I think that most of them in the forthcoming dis- cussion will be against repealing any political censorship regulations. Contingency is used only as

used only as an excuse. In fact, in their minds they have already insisted on their own principle, and that is that there 12 must be political censorship.

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Members who are against the Motion made by Mr. Martin Lee said that there is no absolute freedom, that in order to protect public interest we cannot have absolute freedom of expression. Actually, we are not asking for absolute freedom of expression without bounds. We are just opposing political censorship on films, and we

Media are doing so also because we want to protect public interest. 19 other than films, for example, newspapers and magazines, are not

subject to the restriction of a clause on the damage of a good relationship between Hong Kong and other countries. So why donot we think that we are giving absolute freedom to other media? Why donot we also believe that they will not cause any bad relationship between Hong Kong and other countries? Why are other forms of expression enjoying privileges or rights that are not given to films?

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Freedom

of expression is a concept that cannot be separated if we cut it into parts and say that such a medium should enjoy this freedom and another should not. Actually, we are already infringing on freedom of · expression as a whole and we are already damaging public interest.

Some people mentioned that if we do not have such a clause Hong Kong will become a battlefield politically. But, actually, we do not have such censorship for other media. Do we think that Hong Kong has already become a battlefield politically?

Let us take a look at the 21 films banned. If we compare these films with this requirement that no film should damage good relationship between Hong Kong and other countries, we would all say