The legislature yesterday passed the outline of a government-initiated bill which proposes amendments to the law on assemblies and demonstrations. Under the proposed amendments, groups and individuals who plan to hold an assembly or demonstration will need to inform the Public Security Police (PSP) in advance, a change from the current situation in which they need to inform the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM).
Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan Hoi Fan introduced the outline of the bill during a plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle yesterday.
According to the current law regulating assemblies and demonstrations which was passed by the legislature under the city’s then Portuguese administration in 1993, groups or individuals who plan to hold an assembly or demonstration in the streets and other public areas or buildings are required to inform by letter the president of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau between three and 15 working days in advance.
Legislative Assembly (AL) President Ho Iat Seng (right) presides over yesterday’s plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle. – Photo: GCS
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