Complaints council to start work in September with most newspapers' backing

People who believe their privacy has been infringed by newspapers will be able to lodge complaints with a non-government watchdog from September.

The Hong Kong Press Council was formally established yesterday with Professor Edward Chen Kwan-yiu, Lingnan University president, as chairman. Former High Court judge Arthur Garcia, the first Ombudsman, was named vice-chairman.

Professor Chen, speaking after the council's first meeting, said the media industry had reached a mature stage by having a self-regulatory body, like those for the legal and accounting professions. 'It's a milestone in the history of the Hong Kong press,' he said.

He believed the Law Reform Commission would now go ahead with its idea of a statutory press council, which was strongly opposed by the industry for fear of gagging press freedom.

Professor Chen said the council would first handle complaints against privacy intrusion by dailies, which are members of the proprietor-led Hong Kong Newspaper Society, which initiated the self-regulation mechanism.

The watchdog, which comprises lawyers, educators, social workers and newspaper executives, can censure papers or demand that they run public apologies to the victims. Complaints against non-member papers will not be handled until the council has sought statutory protection from libel lawsuits. The papers not covered are the Oriental Daily News, the Apple Daily, the Sun, the Hong Kong Economic Journal and Sing Pao.