Hong Kong should take middle-of-road approach in convincing tech giants to enforce protest song ban, adviser says
- Ronny Tong, member of Executive Council, says dialogue more effective than legal disputes in addressing issue
- ‘We must be careful not to give people the impression that we are neglecting Hong Kong’s status as an inclusive society while safeguarding national security,’ he says
Hong Kong should guard against creating the impression that an inclusive society is being disregarded in the interests of national security if authorities step up efforts to curb the spread of a protest song despite Google’s compliance with an injunction, a government adviser has cautioned.
Speaking to the Post, Tong said Google’s compliance reflected that the Hong Kong government’s injunction order served a “basic purpose” that was to “let all service providers know the law is not on their side”.
Tong, also a senior counsel, advised the government to adopt a “middle-of-the-road approach” in persuading platforms to recognise the merits of the injunction. He suggested that dialogue would be more effective than legal disputes in addressing the issue.
“Under ‘one country, two systems’, we must be careful not to give people the impression that we are neglecting Hong Kong’s status as an inclusive society while safeguarding national security,” Tong said, referring to the principle governing ties between the city and the central government. “After all, you can never eliminate [this song] from the whole world.”
The injunction’s lack of usefulness was one of the reasons cited by Justice Anthony Chan Kin-keung of the High Court as he dismissed the government’s initial bid for the order.
