The Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority that night sought a review of the interim classification at a full hearing, which would be open to the public.

Veteran adjudicator Mervyn Cheung Man-ping said no rigid standards could be applied to classifications and the five criteria in the ordinance were general. 'But the presiding judge may verbally give non-binding instructions to new adjudicators. For example, nudity is in general classified as indecent, while sex acts, including oral sex, are in the obscenity category.'

Mr Cheung said a better system would help to end the controversy. 'We can make reference to the classification of films which make distinctions between Category 2A and 2B, as teenagers of different ages may have different levels of maturity and awareness of indecency.'

Louis Shih Tai-cho, also a tribunal adjudicator, criticised the existing ordinance as out of date, and said the classification of indecent or obscene materials should be made under the judiciary. 'People who submit the articles for classification should be able to defend their case during the ruling,' Dr Shih said, adding at present people are only notified of the result.

He said it was not practical to set a rigid standard on morals. 'Hong Kong should be a place for diversity where people are able to respect minorities and different values,' said Dr Shih.

He added: 'I wonder why showing some parts of the body is classified as obscene while blanking them out falls into the category of indecency. It is completely of no help.'

Another adjudicator, Cheung Kwok-che, said a jury system might be adopted to appoint adjudicators.

At present, the job was appointed to people who had expressed interest and were eligible.

All three adjudicators agreed that rapidly advancing technology, notably the internet, posed more challenges to the mechanism.

The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said it was reviewing the ordinance on obscene articles. A spokesman said the review began in October last year and the public would be consulted after its completion in the middle of this year.

Meanwhile, the Broadcasting Authority has decided against handling the 1,445 complaints received over the appearance of Twins star Gillian Chung Yan-tung in a charity show, Operation Relief 2008, on TVB Jade last Sunday. It would convey the complaints to TVB.

The authority said many felt Chung's participation would exert a bad influence on children.

Drawing the line

Factors the tribunal considers in determining obscenity or indecency:

Standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by the community.

The dominant effect of an article as a whole.

The class or age groups of people for whom the article is intended.

The location where the material is publicly displayed and people likely to view it.

Whether the article has an honest purpose.

Source: Chapter 390, Control of Obscene and Indecent

Articles Ordinance