IV.Civil rights and freedoms
(Articles 7, 8, 13, 17, 14, 15, 16 and 37(a))
AArticle 7: Name and nationality
Right to a name
79.Article 20(2) of the Bill of Rights provides that every child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have a name. The Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Chapter 174) also provides for a child who is not named at the registration of birth to have its name inscribed on the register at a later time.
Registration of newborns
80.As explained in paragraph 75 of the previous report, the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Chapter 174) provides that the particulars of a child born alive in Hong Kong must be registered with the Births Registry within 42 days of the birth. Registration particulars include the date of birth, the child’s sex and name, the father’s name and surname (but see paragraph 81 below), the mother’s name and maiden surname and the registering party’s residential address and description. The position is unchanged. Parents who, without reasonable excuse, fail to register a birth are liable upon summary conviction to a fine of up to $2,000 or six months’ imprisonment.
Illegitimate children
81.As explained in paragraph 77 of the previous report, the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Chapter 174) provides that the name of the father of an illegitimate child is not required to be included in the
registration of birth. Nevertheless, the father may be named at the request of one or both parents, together with the necessary declarations or court orders. The position is unchanged.
Abandoned children
82.As explained in paragraph 78 of the previous report, section 8(2) of the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Chapter 174) requires persons who find abandoned children, or the persons in whose charge the children are placed, to report the finding to the Registrar of Births and Deaths. Within 42 days of the finding, they must give such particulars of the birth as they possess and as are relevant to the registration process. If the natural parent(s) cannot be traced within a reasonable time, an application will be made to court to appoint the Director of Social Welfare to be the guardian of the child[1]. If the child's identity remains unknown, it will then receive a name for registration purposes. The position is unchanged.
Adoption
83.As explained in paragraph 79 of the previous report, sections 18 and 19 of the Adoption Ordinance (Chapter 290) provide that the Registrar of Births and Deaths (the Registrar) shall maintain an 'Adopted Children Register', "in which shall be entered entries directed by adoption orders" of the Court. Those entries include the date and country of the child’s birth, its name and the address and occupation of the adopter(s). That procedure is unchanged. The position regarding the alteration of an adopted person's name is explained in paragraph 86 below, in connection with Article 8 of the Convention.
Births on aircraft and ships
84.The position is essentially as explained in paragraphs 81 and 82 of the previous report. That is -
(a)births on Hong Kong-registered aircraft: regulations under the Civil Aviation (Births, Deaths and Missing Persons) Ordinance (Chapter 173) require the Civil Aviation Department to keep records of such births, wherever they occur. The Department must copy those records to the Registrar of Births and Deaths; and
(b)births on Hong Kong-registered ships:are regulated under the Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) Ordinance (Chapter 478) and/or the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Chapter 174). Where the birth occurs on a Hong Kong-registered ship outside Hong Kong waters, only Chapter 478 applies. The master of the ship must make a return to the Superintendent of the Mercantile Marine Office within six months. Where the birth occurs on a Hong Kong-registered ship within Hong Kong waters, both Chapter 478 and Chapter 174 apply. In addition to the return to the Superintendent of the Mercantile Marine office, the parents or occupier of the ship in which the birth occurs must register the birth to the Registrar of Births and Deaths within 42 days after the day of the birth.
Chapter 478 also applies to births on ships not registered in Hong Kong when the birth is given to a Hong Kong identity card holder and the ship enters the waters of Hong Kong in the course of or at the end of the voyage during which the birth occurs. The Superintendent of the Mercantile Marine Office must record such birth and, within seven days, send a certified copy of the record to the Registrar of Births and Deaths.
Chapter 478 does not apply to fishing vessels licensed under Part IV of the Shipping and Port Control Ordinance, Chapter 313. Births on licensed fishing vessels operating only within Hong Kong waters are subject to the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Chapter 174).
Nationality
85.The Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China (CNL) applies to Hong Kongby virtue of Article 18 of the Basic Law. Article 4 of the CNL provides that any person born in China whose parents are both Chinese nationals, or one of whose parents is a Chinese national, shall have Chinese nationality. Article 6 of the CNL states that any person born in China whose parents are stateless or of uncertain nationality and have settled in China shall have Chinese nationality. The CNL became effective in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on 1 July 1997. Having considered the historical background and the current situation, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress has made certain ‘explanations’ regarding the implementation of the Nationality Law of the People’s Republic of China in Hong Kong. Inter alia, these provide that Hong Kong residents who are of Chinese descent and born in Chinese territory (including Hong Kong), and others who satisfy the conditions prescribed in the CNL, are Chinese nationals. Thus, children born in Hong Kong have the right to acquire Chinese nationality if they satisfy the conditions of the CNL.
B Article 8: Preservation of identity
Name alteration
86.The position remains as explained in paragraphs 88 and 89 of the previous report. That is -
(a) section 13 of the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Chapter 174) provides for a parent or guardian to alter or to add to the given name - but not the surname - of a child under 11 years of age;
(b) the registration of a name is optional (section 13(1) of the Ordinance); and
(c)to mark the new life of an adopted child, its adoptive parents may alter the child's name when they apply for adoption. Under sections 19(2)(b) and 20(1)(a) of the Adoption Ordinance (Chapter 290), an adopter - or the adopted child - may, within one year of the date of an adoption order, apply to the court to change or add to the child's name. Section 19(2)(b) of that Ordinance provides that, where the name or surname that the infant is to bear after adoption differs from its original name or surname, the new name or surname shall be specified in the (adoption) order instead of the original. In practice, the Registrar of Births follows the order of the court in this regard, if any. The child’s name and surname are normally proposed by the adopters, especially in the case of very young children. Adopters will normally consider the views of older children before registering their names.
87.In paragraph 88 of the previous report, we explained that some commentators considered that these provisions were inconsistent with Articles 7 and 8 of the Convention. We did not share that view, considering that the provisions were reasonable, having regard to Hong Kong’s cultural and social circumstances. We explained that, in Chinese tradition, if a person’s name was not in harmony with his or her environment, adverse effects could be caused to that person and to those around him or her. Therefore, children’s names were often chosen, and in some cases subsequently changed, on the advice of fortune-tellers. For these reasons, births were sometimes registered before the children’s names had been finally decided. The statutory provisions enabled these traditions to continue. The position is unchanged.
Preservation of nationality
88.The position of children born in Hong Kong is explained in paragraph 85 above.
Re-establishing a child’s lost identity
89.This is explained in paragraph 82 above in relation to Article 7.
Child abduction
90.We are not aware of any cases of children in Hong Kong being abducted for unauthorised adoption. But child abduction for any purpose is a serious offence. The relevant legal provisions are -
(a)section 126 of the Crimes Ordinance (Chapter 200): makes it an offence to take an unmarried girl under the age of 16 out of the possession of her parent or guardian against the will of the parent or guardian and without lawful authority or excuse;
(b) sections 42 to 44 of the Offences Against the Person Ordinance (Chapter 212): make it an offence to take or detain anyone by force or fraud with intent to sell them (section 42); to steal a child aged under 14 years (section 43); and to unlawfully transfer possession, custody or control of other persons for valuable consideration (section 44); and
(c) section 26 of the Protection of Children and Juveniles Ordinance (Chapter 213): makes it an offence unlawfully to take (or cause to be taken) any child or juvenile out of the possession and against the will of the father or mother or of any other person having the lawful care or charge of such child or juvenile.
Some of these provisions are complex and this summary inevitably omits much of the detail. The provisions are reproduced in full at Annex 5.
CArticle 13: Freedom of expression
91.At the constitutional level, Article 27 of the Basic Law provides that all Hong Kong residents shall have freedom of speech, of the press and of publication. So too does Article 16 of the BORO, which gives domestic effect to ICCPR.
Right to obtain information
Code on Access to Information
92.Our policy is to make available to the public as much information as possible to enhance their understanding of the formulation and implementation of policy, so that they can more readily understand the basis on which the Government makes decisions. To that end, in March 1995 we introduced an administrative Code on Access to Information initially on a pilot basis but, by December 1996, across the whole of Government. Under the Code, information held by the Government is made available to the public, either routinely or on request, unless there are valid reasons - related to public, private or commercial interests - to withhold it. Members of the public who are dissatisfied with a department’s response under the Code have access to the Ombudsman. Both adults and children receive the same treatment under the Code. The Code is reproduced at Annex 6.
Privacy
93.The Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Chapter 486) provides for a living individual, including a child, to have rights of access to, and correction of, his or her personal data. Children have the same rights of access under the Ordinance as do adults. The Ordinance also provides for a person who has parental responsibilities for a child to assist the child to access or correct its personal data. Commentators have said that parents should show greater respect for their children's privacy, particularly in the home. This is a difficult area for governments to address directly, particularly as the best interests of children must balance their right to privacy (Article 16) with the responsibilities of parents for the upbringing and development of their children (Article 16). Nevertheless, we will take account of the concern in future public education projects.
Access to birth data by adopted children
94.See paragraph 206 in relation to the review of the Adoption Ordinance.
D Article 17: Access to appropriate information
Television for children
95.Two domestic broadcasters provide free television services. Their licences require them to broadcast a minimum of two hours of children’s programmes[2] daily on each of their channels and at prescribed times. Domestic pay television licensees also provide programmes for children.
Educational television programmes
96.Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), Hong Kong's public broadcaster, produces educational television programmes for schools in collaboration with the Education Department. These are broadcast by the two domestic licensees between prescribed weekday hours[3]. The programmes may be curriculum-based, and are watched by pupils from primary level one to secondary level five.
Library services for children and promotion of leisure reading
97.This is addressed in paragraphs 393 and 394 below under section VIIC in relation to Article 31 of the Convention.
Access to the Internet
98.Our policy is to raise community awareness and confidence in the use of information technology and to foster a culture of life long learning and knowledge renewal. To those ends, we aim to promote the wider use of computers and the Internet and to ensure that our children have ready access to the world of information technology.
99.A survey conducted in March 2000 indicated that one in every two Hong Kong households possessed a computer. More than one third of the population were connected to the Internet. These findings reveal a high level of home computer and Internet penetration. Nevertheless, we have actively sought to facilitate computer/Internet access in public areas, including those visited by children. To that end, we have installed some 2,200 public computers with Internet access in district government offices, community hall/centres, post offices, public libraries and various youth and social centres. These are available to the public without charge. And, as elsewhere, such facilities are widely available in private sector outlets.
100.In 1997, we announced a series of initiatives to promote the use of information technology (IT) in teaching and learning in schools. Under this project, each school receives funding to establish a network infrastructure and other IT facilities for teachers and students to share information, to tap into the wealth of knowledge available through the various electronic networks, and to make IT-based teaching and learning more efficient and effective. All our schools can now access the Internet.
101.To minimise the “digital divide”, we provide incentive grants to encourage schools to extend the opening hours of their computer rooms and facilities for use by students. Additionally, we have allocated HK$200 million[4] to enable public sector secondary schools to purchase notebook computers for on-loan to needy students.
102.Public libraries and some 125 community and youth centres also play an important role in bridging the gap between the “haves” and “have-nots”. Since July 1999, students have had access to IT facilities that we have installed in all public libraries and in community and youth centres around the territory. These enable them to browse the Internet
and to use computer applications for self-study outside school hours. Additionally, the Education Department's website, 'HKeducationCITY.net' (launched in August 2000) provides online teaching materials for schools, teachers, students and parents, and a forum for them to share views and experience.
Protection of children from injurious material
Regulation of radio and television programmes
103.Television and sound broadcasting is subject to regulation by the Broadcasting Authority. The Authority has issued codes of practice that set programme and advertising standards for the four categories of television programmes[5] licensed under the Broadcasting Ordinance (Chapter 562) and sound broadcasting services licensed under the Telecommunications Ordinance (Chapter 106). The Ordinance and the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance (Chapter 391)[6] empower the Authority[7] to impose sanctions on licensees who do not comply with the Codes.
104.The domestic broadcasters (see paragraph 95 above) are -
(a) prohibited under Chapter 2 of the Generic Code of Practice on TelevisionProgramme Standards from broadcasting programmes unsuitable for children during family viewing hours[8].They must not show material unsuitable for children outside those hours when a large number of childrenmight be
expected to be watching television, for example during school holidays; and
(b) required to classify programmes regarded as unsuitable for children by category, namely 'Parental Guidance Recommended' and 'Mature'. They must advertise the classification before and during the transmission by superimposing indicators on the screen.
105.Programmes provided by domestic pay television services must carry advisory announcements together with a descriptive statement of problematic content if they contain material that is unsuitable for children (Chapter 8 of the Generic Code of Practice on Television Programme Standards). And sound broadcasting licensees must not schedule programmes targeting adult listeners at times when they normally broadcast programmes targeting children. The purpose of these requirements is to help parents exercise guidance over their children’s viewing.
106.Some commentators have called for more programmes suitable for children - particularly for adolescents in the 15 to 18 group - to be broadcast after 7 p.m, which is prime viewing time. We plan to conduct a review of these services before the two domestic free television service licences expire in 2003. As part of the review process, the Broadcasting Authority will seek public views as to whether the existing services meet the needs of society and their expectations in regard to future services. A question to be addressed in the consultations will be whether the licences should include positive programming requirements.
Films, videotapes and laser discs
107.All films intended for public viewing in Hong Kong (including videotape and laser disc versions) are subject to classification by the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing, who is the Film Censorship Authority. There are three categories -
Category I-suitable for all ages;
Category IIA-not suitable for children;
Category IIB-not suitable for young persons and children; and
Category III-for persons aged 18 or above only.
108.Regular surveys of community views and consultation with a statutory panel of advisers[9] ensure that the classification standards are attuned to those of the community. Categories I, IIA, and IIB are advisory in nature and give parents more information for the selection of films suitable for their children. The age restriction for Category III films is strictly enforced[10].