There is no freedom of expression in Legco public gallery, government lawyer claims

Surprising comments came during appeal from district councillor seeking to overturn convictions for displaying a Nazi poster and loudly protesting against a Tseung Kwan O landfill expansion in 2014

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Sai Kung district councillor Christine Fong Kwok-shan (right) and about 10 residents went down on their knees to ask the government and pro-establishment legislators to halt plans to expand the Tseung Kwan O landfill in 2014. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:10pm, 4 Sep 2017Updated: 10:47pm, 4 Sep 2017

Members of the public who attend Legislative Council meetings do not have a right to freedom of expression, a government lawyer told Hong Kong’s top court on Monday.

The comments from deputy director of public prosecutions Anna Lai Yuen-kee SC surprised the five-judge panel presiding over an appeal lodged by Sai Kung district councillor Christine Fong Kwok-shan.

Fong is seeking to overturn her convictions for displaying a Nazi poster and loudly protesting against landfill expansion in Tseung Kwan O while she was in the public gallery during two Legco meetings in May 2014.

“The right to freedom of expression is not engaged at all,” Lai told the Court of Final Appeal. “This is our primary position.”

Deputy director of public prosecutions, Anna Lai Yuen-kee SC. Photo: David Wong

Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li said it seemed “odd” that such a fundamental right would be excluded completely in a public place, while Mr Justice Roberto Ribeiro said: “This must be questionable.”

At issue is whether Legco’s Administrative Instructions for Regulating Admittance and Conduct of Persons, which Fong’s convictions were based on, are constitutional – consistent with the principle of freedom of speech guaranteed by the Basic Law and the Bill of Rights.