TNAG-1692-FCO40-2342-Hong-Kong-legislation-regarding-the-control-of-publications--1987 — Page 5

Sir,

Page

OMELCO

DRAFT SPEECH BY HON PETER C WONG, CBE,

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 11.3.87

-

Public Order (Amendment) Bill 1986

JP

-

2nd Reading

When I was asked by my colleagues to form an Ad Hoc

The Control of Publications Group to examine 2 related Bills Consolidation (Amendment) Bill 1986 and Public Order (Amendment) Bill 1986 - I thought it was a straight-forward assignment. But as events unfold, our task turns out to be

The complexity of the assignment progressively difficult. escalates in direct proportion to the rapidly rising political temperature. It is to the credit of my colleagues in the Group that we have been able to tackle objectively points raised and arguments put forward within the Group, by members of the public, representatives of various organisations and by the

Administration.

With your permission, Sir, I shall deal with both Bills in this speech. This will avoid repetition and

overlapping.

The Group held several meetings, had useful and in-depth discussions with the Administration, which took full account of the various representations made to the Group. Given the sensitive nature of one particular issue, differences of opinion within the Group, in so far as this issue is concerned, are unavoidable. I shall attempt to highlight some areas where consensus was reached, and the area where a common

(II)

IOMELCO|