TNAG-1863-FCO40-2643-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Basic-Law-1989 — Page 182

CODE 18-77

РОРАВТ (4)

CONFIDENTIAL

Reference..

right to freedom of expression which includes the rights "to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds regardless of frontiers." The right however is not absolute. Paragraph 3 of the Article provides:

It

"The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. may therefore by subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:

a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;

b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals,'

We, and Hong Kong, would rely on item b (as respects national security) to defend our respective sedition laws against accusations of any infringement of article 19. You will recall that some years ago we also invoked item b to defend Hong Kong against accusations of an infringement of the Article in respect of film censorship as regards (in substance) films which might offend the PRC.

POST 1997 LAW IN THE SAR

7. The August 1987 draft of the BL contained the following Ariticle:

8.

"The HK SAR Government shall prohibit by law any act that damages the unity of the state or subverts the CPG."

In the December 1987 draft "unity of the state" was replaced by "national unity" but was otherwise unchanged.

We took the view at that time that this formula was dangerously imprecise and could open the door to an insistence on Hong Kong reflecting in its law the kind of crimes of "counter revolution" and endangering public security prescribed in Chapters I and II of Part II of the Criminal Law of the PRC. We further took the view:-

CONFIDENTIAL