Hong Kong government moves to allay fears over controversial copyright bill ahead of vote
Filibustering motions slashed ahead of vote, as assurances given on threat to freedoms
Ahead of a legislative showdown over a controversial copyright bill that detractors have decried as a clampdown on freedom of expression, the government has sought to assuage such concerns even as it prepares to ward off a stormy passage for the bill.
Yesterday, filibustering motions for the legislation were slashed from 915 to 52 and police said they expected around 1,000 protesters to besiege Legco during tomorrow's session.
Organisers put the estimate at 2,000 - a fraction of the nearly quarter of a million online signatures against the new law dubbed the "Internet Article 23", in reference to the aborted 2003 national security laws.
Officials meanwhile assured internet users that freedom of expression and creation would be protected under the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014, and worries over whether adaptation of videos, songs or pictures would be a crime were unfounded.
Arguing that the bill balanced the interests of stakeholders and the public, Commerce and Economic Development Deputy Secretary David Wong said: "We have been lagging behind for the past decade and we must catch up."
The government has been under fire from the film, TV and music industries for failing to update the copyright law since 2006, claiming they had lost billions to rampant online piracy.