[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 17 (Wednesday, February 7, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S1074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       PRESS FREEDOM IN HONG KONG

  Mr. PELL. Mr. President, I rise today to speak out on behalf of 
freedom of the press in Hong Kong. As we approach Hong Kong's July 1, 
1997 transfer to control under the People's Republic of China, there is 
great fear that one of the fundamental tenets of a free society--
freedom of the press--will not survive the transition. China's track 
record on press freedom leaves much to be desired; the current Hong 
Kong Government should be actively working to shore up legal support 
for the press before it hands over control to Beijing.
  The grand experiment of democracy in the United States would have 
surely failed were it not for a free press. Our founders realized that 
its importance was not only for general education, but also for 
exposing the dangers of would-be oppressive officials and prodding 
leaders into more ethical behavior. Our Nation's history has proven 
that the scrutiny of public light forces public officials both to serve 
the interests of the public and to serve honestly far better than they 
would without that scrutiny. Benjamin Franklin once said that ``whoever 
would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the 
freeness of speech.'' It is precisely this fear--that the PRC will 
attempt to overthrow Hong Kong's current way of life by stifling its 
press, with the quiet acquiescence of the current authorities--that I 
wish to address today.
  Hong Kong boasts of one of the freest media systems in all of Asia, 
with more than 70 daily newspapers. The press is privately owned, 
offering Hong Kong citizens access to a broad range of political and 
social views. But journalists in and out of Hong Kong cite the present 
administration's sluggish pace in revising anachronistic press laws as 
one of their key sources of fear for the press after 1997.
  Current Hong Kong laws which restrict press freedom are rarely 
applied by the government, but an authoritarian regime could easily use 
them to prohibit the expression of any objectionable ideas. These 
laws--which are inconsistent with Hong Kong's own Bill of Rights--
include the Emergency Regulations Ordinance, which gives the Governor 
broad powers of censorship during loosely defined ``emergencies''; the 
Crimes Ordinance, which defines any publication or speech ``intending'' 
to foster hatred of the government as seditious; and the Official 
Secrets Act, which makes unauthorized publication of information 
illegal. Some of the democratically elected members of the Legislative 
Council, along with independent journalists groups such as the Hong 
Kong Journalists Association, have repeatedly urged the government to 
repeal or amend these laws. These same reformers have also urged the 
Hong Kong Governor's office to enact legislation which would provide 
greater access to information, similar to the United States Freedom of 
Information Act. But the current administration continues to move 
slowly, to the point of delay. There is no reason to believe that the 
successor Chinese administration will be any more willing to undertake 
these reforms; it is likely to oppose them outright. The time to make 
these changes is now. Above all, the government should refrain from 
introducing any new laws which in any way restrict the press' right to 
function independently. A recent call by pro-Beijing Legislator Law 
Cheung-kwok for hearings to consider regulating newspaper prices, a 
move that appears to be aimed specifically at controlling the Oriental 
Daily News, is exactly what the Hong Kong government should not be 
doing.
  Joseph Pulitzer argued that ``publicity may not be the only thing 
that is needed, but it is the one thing without which all other 
agencies will fail.'' There is no point of having a freely elected 
democratic government if there is no way to freely report on its 
actions and to expose its abuses. A free press is the only guarantor of 
the people's right to know what their government does and the best 
guarantor of their right to offer alternative views. Hong Kong's press 
must remain free and unrestricted if the colony's current rights are to 
be maintained. The colonial government has the immediate responsibility 
of ensuring that it does.

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