Copyright warning: 'Enough is enough'
Top News | Amy Nip and Kenneth Lau 26 Feb 2016The government will stop pursuing the controversial copyright amendment bill if lawmakers do not pass it next week, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So Kam-leung said yesterday.
"How much more [time] should we waste?" So said. "Enough is enough."
The decision was made following yet another abortive Legislative Council meeting on Wednesday, the fifth since lawmakers started filibustering last December, he said.
Legco already spent 75 hours on the bill, with 30 hours taken up on filibustering tactics such as quorum counts and motions to adjourn the meeting, he said.
So said it is not public pressure, but the big picture that the government has to take note of - more than 20 bills of importance to the economy and people's livelihood are awaiting discussion by lawmakers.
He blamed the pan-democrats for objecting to the bill for political reasons.
The lawmakers were happy with the consensus they reached with the government until the bill's second reading - a point when netizens stepped up their campaign against the bill they dubbed "Internet Article 23," he said.
"Everybody will lose out if the bill is voted down," So warned.
Netizens will lose new exemptions for parody and satire; copyright owners will lose the legal certainty for them to go after large-scale copyright infringements by streaming websites; and Hong Kong could be added to the US watchlist that lists regions with poor intellectual property protection, So said. There is still enough time to pass the bill if pan-democrats stop filibustering next week, he added.
The government cannot withdraw the bill when it is being discussed by the committee of the whole legislature, according to Legco rules of procedures. But the government can list other bills before the copyright amendment bill, or motion to adjourn the debate.
Pan-democrat Cyd Ho Sau-lan said concern groups have been preparing a proposal that will better meet copyright owners' expectations after a four-party meeting among the government, lawmakers, copyright owners and netizens.
To give up negotiation after just one meeting is "childish" and "emotional," she said.
The Civic Party's Alan Leong Kah- kit said the government is using it as another opportunity to lash out at pan- democrats before the New Territories East by-election on Sunday.
Netizen group Keyboard Frontline said it is not a "victory" for them, as the amendments they demanded, such as introducing wider exemptions for netizens following overseas models, failed to materialize.
The Hong Kong Copyright Alliance said it is "stunned" by the development.
Spokesman Peter Lam Yuk-wah said it was a "show hand" tactic to force copyright owners into agreeing to amendments proposed by pan- democrats. He said the alliance will not compromise. If the bill fails eventually, it will be the fault of filibustering lawmakers, he said.
Bar Association chairwoman Winnie Tam Wan-chi said she is not surprised by the development, but all parties are set to lose out.
The government originally put out a copyright amendment bill back in 2011, to try to clear uncertainties brought by technological advancements.











