HKFP reports…
The chief executive pledged to speed up the preparatory work for the potential law, adding the government may report their progress to the upcoming legislative term.
The Hong Kong government will look into the scope of protection offered to public officers against insults, Chief Executive Carrie Lam has said, as she was urged to ensure police officers have “enough dignity” to enforce the law.
The city’s leader was told on Thursday to give clear directions on whether the government will criminalise insults against public officers including police, when she attended a Q&A session in the Legislative Council (LegCo) about the last Policy Address of her term, delivered the day before.
Elizabeth Quat of the DAB party voiced support for the government’s plan to enact Article 23 of the Basic Law, as well as formulate laws to tackle “fake news” and cybercrime. But the legislator said Hong Kong needs a law against maligning police, whom she said were often insulted during work and faced abusive remarks online.
Quat cited “cold-blooded” insults to a marine policewoman who drowned in a clash with smugglers last month, where some netizens wrote a parody song to mock the incident.
“These comments hurt the dignity and authority of the police and increased difficulty for them to enforce the law,” the DAB lawmaker said, adding some police officers told her they did not feel “dignified enough” when there was no law against insulting them.
