TNAG-2862-FCO40-4116-Article-XIX-(lobby-group-for-press-freedom)-and-Hong-Kong-Jo-1993 — Page 19

CONFIDENTIAL

XCC(93)34

THE REVIEW

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(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

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The review has covered the following areas -

the case for an FOI Ordinance;

access to personal records;

information on Government structure and division of

responsibilities;

access to old files; and

legislation with a possible bearing on the freedom of the press.

The following paragraphs set out the results of the review.

FOI legislation

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The arguments put by the HKJA and others in favour of FOI legislation include the following -

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(a) democracy and the freedom of expression that goes with it depend on the free flow of information and ideas;

(b) providing access to official information makes Government more accountable and thus improves the quality of decision-making; and

(c)

individuals should generally have a right to know what information Government has concerning them and to be given an opportunity to correct inaccurate or misleading entries.

The case for an FOI ordinance was considered by this Council in 1986 and again in February 1992. The Council decided against such a course of action on the following grounds -

(a) FOI legislation would likely lead to parallel filing

systems; and

(b)

the considerable cost of operating a freedom of information regime would not be commensurate with the benefits for the public.

Executive Council