TNAG-1735-FCO40-2448-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 165

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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 18 May 1988

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'compliance' version. I would prefer the latter because it does not allow too much personal judgement which may lead to variations in censorship standards.

In the pre-1997 period, the laws of Hong Kong should incorporate inter- national legal practices and standards as much as possible. These laws will hopefully be inherited by the future SAR Government and help to maintain the status of Hong Kong as an international city. I would, therefore, encourage that appropriate steps be taken to write into Hong Kong's legislation binding commitments based on international agreements. The reference to article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in the film censorship legislation is a good example to be followed. Legal systems of the Western world, which have taken centuries to develop, must be superior to what exists in China, which remained an absolute monarchy without the rule of law until about 70 years ago. It will be of advantage to introduce suitable components of western legal systems into the laws of Hong Kong prior to 1997. This will help to strengthen the confidence of Hong Kong people to some extent. People who are afraid of China are worried that the rule of law is not as effective in the Mainland as it is in Hong Kong today.

Sir, it is dangerous to create restrictions and conditions on freedom of expression. There is a Chinese saying, 'If the authorities wish to incriminate a person, they would not worry about not having an excuse' (Z¶‚¢

). Throughout the history of China which spans 5 000 years, there have been innumberable blatant examples of this. If it is absolutely necessary to legislate some conditions on freedom of expression in Hong Kong, effective safeguards must be spelt out to prevent abuse of power by the authorities in the application of such legislation. We must remember that we legislate not only for ourselves but also for future generations. I trust the present Government in Hong Kong because it has a past record of performance. I cannot, however, convince people to have the same degree of trust in a future government which has not yet been formed.

Sir, I would support the compliance formulation when the amendment is moved in the Committee stage.

MRS. TAM: Sir, the Film Censorship Bill 1988, on which debate is resumed today upon its Second Reading in this Council, is a long awaited one. The Legislative Council ad hoc group has spent more than a year holding a total of 37 meetings to study the Bill. Though the ad hoc group has taken a relatively long period of time in its deliberation, we must realise that this Bill is a very significant one in that it does not only bring a number of changes to the existing film censorship system in Hong Kong, but also involves certain aspects of international law. The ad hoc group members have demonstrated their sense of responsibilities, enthusiasm and perseverance by conducting a careful and comprehensive scrutiny. I, therefore, would like to congratulate my hon. Friend, YEUNG Po-kwan, the convener, for the group's work.

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