Anti-stalking law: is it time to give up pursuit?
Controversial legislation that has been under discussion for 14 years may need to be shelved due to lack of consensus, lawmakers hear
Anti-stalking legislation may be shelved after the government said it saw "no favourable conditions" for pursuing it after almost 14 years of discussions.
The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said in a paper submitted to the Legislative Council yesterday that views on the issue diverged widely and none had won majority support.
"The administration is of the view that there are no favourable conditions for us to pursue the matter further," it said, adding that it would make a final decision after hearing lawmakers' views at a meeting on Monday.
The Law Reform Commission suggested in October 2000 that stalking should be made a criminal offence as existing civil and criminal law did not address it.
But the proposal met strong opposition from journalists' and human-rights groups. The government launched a three-month consultation exercise in late 2011, but there was still no public consensus.
Journalists Association chairwoman Sham Yee-lan welcomed the news yesterday.
"If the government indeed shelves the proposal, it will be the one good thing Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has done for the media in this adverse time," she said.