Letters to the Editor, February 20, 2013
Mr Lo criticised me and the Civic Party for "jumping on the bandwagon" in uploading Lian's article on Facebook and inviting the chief executive to sue me for libel if indeed he had a case for libel.
I refer to Alex Lo's column ("Leung is stupid but so are his critics", February 13), where Mr Lo implies that the chief executive was being stupid in sending a solicitor's letter alleging libel over Joseph Lian's article published in the Hong Kong Economic Journal.
Mr Lo criticised me and the Civic Party for "jumping on the bandwagon" in uploading Lian's article on Facebook and inviting the chief executive to sue me for libel if indeed he had a case for libel.
Mr Lo asks whether I think Lian's article is "fair and accurate". Being a columnist, Mr Lo knows very well that the test for libel is not whether the article is "fair and accurate", and public figures often face criticism which are neither fair nor accurate.
In the leading British case, Derbyshire County Council vs Times Newspapers Ltd, it was held that "it would be contrary to public interest for institutions of central or local government to have any right at common law to maintain an action for damages for defamation".
And in the local case of Albert Cheng vs Paul Tse, the Court of Final Appeal laid down a generous approach so that the right of fair comment on matters of public interest would be maintained in its full vigour.
Joseph Lian's article clearly falls within the realm of fair comment and analysis of the recent reports on triad-linked activities and he did draw on allegations made by Lew Mon-hung, who claims to have first-hand information relating to C. Y. Leung's campaign.