Apple Daily (Hong Kong): Exposing the Deceit of Article 23: Media Could Find it Difficult to Avoid Prosecution

(Clearwisdom.net) Apple Daily reported on December 9 that Hong Kong government officials often emphasize that the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law will only limit itself to defining some high-level crimes that ordinary citizens would not commit. However, a large group of lawyers are standing up and writing articles to expose the government's lies. Apple Daily will briefly report the points one by one to readers.

Professor Michael C. Davis, of the Department of Government and Public Administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, composed a booklet entitled Comparisons between Legislation of Article 23 and Counterparts from Other Countries --- What You Must Know, in which he discussed the following concerns:

The government claims that even the most free and democratic countries have laws to prevent and punish conduct that threatens national safety and that the proposals in the consultation document are similar to or even softer than their counterparts in those countries. However, the judiciary rules of foreign countries pay attention to protecting the public's right to obtain information, and the media are able to defend themselves in the public's interests to avoid prosecution. The consultation document imposes inhibitions on the media, and moreover, it does not provide the media any way to defend itself to avoid prosecution.

Furthermore, foreign countries have different understandings of the amount of authority the police and the courts can have. During the Watergate scandal in the United States, the US Supreme Court rejected the government's request to not allow the court to investigate certain evidence when the government used the excuse of protecting state secrets. Moreover, to protect individuals' rights, the US constitution clearly states that police officers must apply for search warrants from the courts before they can search someone's home.

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