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In this context the word "necessary" does not mean useful, reasonable
or desirable. The leading cases in this respect all show that
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no matter how useful, reasonable or desirable a particular restriction
is in the view of the Government concerned, it will be considered to
be an infringement of the said Article 19 unless it has been
established that there is "a pressing social need" for it. I repeat, "a pressing social need" for it. Further the leading cases demonstrate that the reasons given to justify a restriction
must be relevant and sufficient, in other words, not mere
speculation. Up to now, we have not been given any good or sufficient reason by the administration as to the necessity of such a provision, namely, that there is a pressing social need. It is
also well-established in the leading cases that all exception clauses
14 must be strictly interpreted and no other criteria than those
mentioned in the clause itself may be the basis of restrictions
on the right protected. Sir, while it is perfectly true that the contracting state does enjoy a certain "margin of appreciation"
or discretion in deciding whether a particular restriction should be imposed, the leading cases show this margin of appreciation or discretion is certainly not unlimited in scope and that it will
21 depend on the nature of the restriction in question.
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For example, the contracting state will be allowed a wider margin of discretion in imposing restrictions on moral grounds than on political grounds. Sir, it has been suggested 25 that Hong Kong is in a very unique position and that we are so
close to China as well as Taiwan and that if there is no political censorship of films, then a number of political films will be produced, not for the purposes of profit but for the purposes of advancing the political objects of a particular government, thus causing instability to Hong Kong. Sir, I must say that such a scenario is possible but I am not at all convinced that it is likely and in the absence of any concrete evidence produced by the administration, the suggestion is merely speculative and certainly does not fulfill the test laid down by the authorities, namely,
that the reasons must be relevant and sufficient. We must not forget that the people of Hong Kong are entirely free to go or
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