TNAG-1692-FCO40-2342-Hong-Kong-legislation-regarding-the-control-of-publications--1987 — Page 19

Then it is said that only very few people have

That may be

voiced their objections

true.

to this Bill in

public.

But apart from members of the Executive Council and the

Administration who have indeed spoken

this

out in

support of

And why is it that

there received,

a re

Bill, where else do we find support for it?

of the many representations that have been

SO few (if at all) which support it? Sir, can all these people

be wrong? Or could it be that we collectively have misjudged

the situation?

In my

adjourned.

respectful submission, this debate ought to be

But I will not move a motion to have it adjourned

because I do not want to stop my other colleagues from making

their views known. I hope that someone else will move such a

motion later.

I now turn to my reasons for opposing this Bill.

My

fundamental

objection

to the Bill is that "false

news" may in fact be "true news", because the question whether

item of news is true or false is to be determined

particular

by a court of law in the light of evidence produced before it.

This new section is likely to be a very useful

weapon in the hands of a

repressive government. Experience

shows that no

criticism is justified or not.

government likes

being criticized whether the

Experience has also shown