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.
Ada Leung, Director of Intellectual Property, said the bill was meant to improve the legal protection of copyrighted works while maintaining the public's freedom of expression and creation when dealing with such works.
Leung said those who shared links on social media, adapted videos, songs or pictures, streamed video games, created fan fiction and cosplay, would not be guilty of a crime if their acts fell under the six exemptions - parody, satire, pastiche, caricature, quotation and reporting or commenting on current events.
She doubted the new law would cause a deluge of legal cases as a copyright owner would need strong legal grounds and money to pursue a civil case. "The grounds needed for criminal cases are much higher," she said.
Only 42 of the 900-plus amendments proposed by one radical lawmaker to the bill have been given the go-ahead, dealing a blow to the filibuster attempt against the law.
In striking out the motions raised by lawmaker Wong Yuk-man, Legislative Council President Jasper Tsang Yok-sing said most of his amendments were frivolous or trivial.
The government needs 35 votes in the 70-strong Legislative Council to approve the bill. With 43 pro-establishment lawmakers dominating the legislature, it will likely go through.
