South China Morning Post: Welcome support for a basic human right [Excerpt]

Friday, May 6, 2005

The Court of Final Appeal has, once again, safeguarded Hong Kong's reputation as a city where the freedom to demonstrate is not an empty right. In quashing the convictions of a group of Falun Gong members on charges of obstruction for staging a demonstration outside the central government's liaison office, the top court has strengthened protection for that right as one that cannot be easily suppressed in the name of other seemingly legitimate causes.

The ruling capped a series of judgments establishing the court as one that gives a generous interpretation of fundamental human rights that are at the heart of Hong Kong's systems.

Demonstrations can be a nuisance to those who find the protesters' messages disagreeable or offensive. A protest held in a public place may cause inconvenience to passers-by, obliging them to make a detour to get to their destinations. But that is no excuse to muzzle the demonstrators on the excuse of keeping the venue free of obstruction.

The Falun Gong members staged a peaceful, small-scale demonstration. They did no more than hold [...] exercises and raise a banner that denounced the alleged persecution of the [practitioners] on the mainland. But they were arrested by police for causing a physical obstruction of a public place.

We do not have to agree with the group's message to support its right to stage a demonstration where it can be heard by the intended audience. The essence of free speech is about saying what one wants to say where it matters. Their choice of venue was part of their message, which would lose some of its bite if the demonstration were held elsewhere.

That is not to say that in the name of free speech, demonstrators can be condoned for causing undue blockage. But it does demand that any attempts to restrain them must be guided by reason. As the court rightly pointed out: "When obstruction results from persons exercising the constitutional right to demonstrate, the importance of that fundamental right must be given substantial weight in deciding whether the obstruction is reasonable."

The ruling means the police will have to be more circumspect in enforcing the law. Causing an obstruction in a demonstration does not automatically constitute an offence, and will only become unlawful if it is unreasonable. There will be times when police assigned to patrol demonstrations will find it difficult to make the call on whether the demonstrators have crossed the line. But it is a call we believe Asia's finest will learn to make judiciously.

http://focus.scmp.com/focusnews/Q8N9HZ7E.html