The government launched on Friday the first round of public consultation exercises to review the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance.

Undersecretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So stressed the necessity to review the ordinance, enacted in the late 1980s, to address public concerns over the publishing of obscene and indecent materials in entertainment magazines and online.

So reiterated that the government does not have a presupposed stance on the issue.

"We are just hoping to gather useful views by giving out suggestions," he said, adding that a second round of consultations will be held next year.

So noted that it is important to preserve the free flow of information and safeguard freedom of expression, but he added that a balance should be struck to protect youths.

The main topics included in the consultation paper involve the definitions of obscenity and indecency, the classification system, and the adjudicating system.

There have been controversies regarding the classification of articles, which was raised in the Edison Chen nude-picture scandal earlier this year. A construction worker was refused bail by a court in February for posting online several of Chen's nude pictures that the police deemed obscene, but the man was later acquitted after the Obscene Articles Tribunal classified the pictures as indecent, which carries a more lenient penalty.

The existing ordinance stipulates that obscenity and indecency include elements of "violence, depravity and repulsiveness".

Publications are categorized into three classes. Class 1 materials can be published without restriction. Class 2, which is regarded as indecent, must not be published to persons under 18. Such materials must be sealed in wrappers or display a warning notice.

Publications of Class 3 materials, regarded as obscene, are prohibited.

The paper proposes to divide Class 2 into two sub-grades, with Class 2A material made available to persons older than 15 and 2B material available to persons over 18. Both 2A and 2B materials would be required to be sealed.

The paper said sub-dividing Class 2 will assist parents in choosing reading material for children.

Mervyn Cheung, an adjudicator of the Obscene Articles Tribunal (OAT), said adding a sub-class of 2A can help prevent youngsters from accessing undesirable material, but he added that the implementation is difficult.

"The distinction between 2A and 2B is blurred," he said. "Each adjudicator has their own interpretation of what constitutes indecency."

Another adjudicator, Cheung Kwok-chu, said the proposed classification is helpful to protect youngsters, as publishers distributing Class 2 materials may choose to adhere to Class 2A standard with less undesirable materials.

The adjudication system, in which the OAT has the exclusive jurisdiction to classify the material, will also need to be revamped, the paper suggests.

For example, the adjudicators can be drawn from the list of 570,000 jurors instead of from a pool of about 300 community members.

Tong Sai-ho, former chief editor of the Chinese University's students' journal, which was classified as indecent last year for publishing material related to bestiality and incest, said revamping the adjudication system is more important that re-definition.

"The classification is made by a small number of people, and no explanation is given," he said.

The consultation paper has proposed tougher penalties against the publication of such materials.

The fine for publishing obscene articles may be raised to HK$2 million from HK$1 million, while three-year imprisonment may remain.

The penalty for the first conviction for posting indecent articles may be raised to HK$800,000 and one-year imprisonment, from the existing HK$400,000 fine with the same jail term. Repeat offenders may be subject to a maximum fine of HK$1.6 million and two years in jail, instead of a HK$800,000 fine and one-year imprisonment.

The first round of consultations will end on Jan 31.

(HK Edition 10/04/2008 page1)