Publishers and journalists have nothing to fear about the proposed Article 23 legislation, the Solicitor General said at a luncheon at the Foreign Correspondent's Club today.

Bob Allcock told journalists that the Article 23 legislation exercise had generated more myths and misconceptions than any other in the last two decades. He wanted to explain the true position, he said, as many misconceptions had been repeated in the last week.

Reference has been made to "the new proposed offence of unauthorised and damaging disclosure of information", he said, adding that the offence of making an unauthorised and damaging disclosure of protected information is not "new" but has applied in Hong Kong since 1992.

"Before then, an even stricter regime applied under the British Official Secrets Act," he said. "The offence has not had a 'chilling effect' in the media and there is no reason to believe that its continued application will do so. You're as outspoken, lively and critical as ever."

Some critics have said that under the proposed laws, someone could be prosecuted solely for possessing so-called unauthorised information. However, Mr Allcock noted, it is not proposed to create an offence of possessing unauthorised information. The offence will remain that of making an unauthorised and damaging disclosure of protected information.

Contrary to what has been suggested, he added, the proposed new category of protected information does not apply to any information regarding relations between the Central Authorities and Hong Kong. It is limited to information relating to affairs concerning Hong Kong which are, under the Basic Law, within the responsibility of the Central Authorities.

He said the unauthorised disclosure of such information would only be an offence if:

* it had first been the subject of an unauthorised disclosure by a Hong Kong public servant; or,

* it had been obtained by means of illegal access, which is defined by reference to certain offences under Hong Kong law.

"Liberalised", "narrow" law does not lead to self censorship

It has been stated that no journalist could safely use "unauthorised information" without meeting an unrealistic standard of proof, Mr Allcock said.

Journalists are not subject to any standard of proof that will prevent them from disclosing protected information.

If a journalist does in fact make an unauthorised and damaging disclosure of protected information, the onus will be on the prosecution to prove that the journalist knew, or had reasonable grounds to believe:

* that it was protected information; and,

* that it came into his possession as a result of an unauthorised disclosure by a Hong Kong public servant, or by illegal access - an offence under Hong Kong law.

Reference has been made to "the proposed new offence of handling seditious publications" which may "encourage self-censorship". The offence is not new, but has existed under our law for decades. What the bill does is to considerably narrow the scope of the offence.

"I fail to see how a liberalised and narrow law can lead to self-censorship," Mr Allcock said.

The legislative process has not been rushed

The Bills Committee is not "rushing" the bill through the legislative process, he stressed. Its meetings with the Administration last from three-and-a-half to four hours, and there have been 13 such meetings to date.

There have also been four sessions with members of the public lasting three hours each, Mr Allcock added.

The committee has received more than 60 papers relating to the bill from the Administration or the Legislative Council Secretariat. There is no doubt in his mind, he said, that all relevant concerns have been identified and pursued vigorously.

If you look at the bill closely, he said, in most key areas it's a liberalising measure. Proposed amendments from the Administration will be announced "very shortly", he said, adding that his view is that members of the media have "nothing to fear" from this legislation. 

The Government announced draft amendments to the National Security Bill less than eight hours later. For details, click here.