Democratic Party Calls for Extension of Article 23 Legislative Consultation, Says “State Secrets” Do Not Cover Media Exemption Clause
民主黨促延長23條立法諮詢期 稱「國家秘密」未涵蓋傳媒免責條款
The 29-day public consultation on legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law begins today. Democratic Party chairperson Lo Kin-hei said a one-month consultation period was insufficient, and that it also covered the Lunar New Year holiday, when members of the public might not actively discuss the issue. He proposed that the government extend the consultation period and hold public hearings. Lo said the consultation document had not clarified the definition of “state secrets”, including whether an exemption clause would apply if media investigations disclosed documents involving the public interest. He said the government should put forward its preliminary views as soon as possible to allow the public to discuss them. Lo also said the party’s public comments so far had remained within the “line” and that it had not violated anything mentioned in the consultation document. He said the party was not currently concerned that Article 23 posed a risk to it.
《基本法》第23條立法今日起進行29日公眾諮詢。民主黨主席羅健熙表示，一個月諮詢期不足夠，期間亦涵蓋農曆新年假，市民未必會熱切討論，建議政府延長諮詢期，以及召開公聽會。羅提到諮詢文件未有釐清「國家秘密」的定義，如傳媒調查披露涉公眾利益的文件是否有免責條款，認為政府應盡早提出其初步想法，讓市民作出討論。羅又指黨目前作出的公開評論都在「界線」之內，認為未有干犯諮詢文件提及的事情，暫時未憂慮23條對黨構成風險。