Four-way talks on Hong Kong copyright bill ends in hostility, paving way for further filibustering
Government rejects calls for changes to bill in current atmosphere as compromise proposal is floated
The first four-party meeting between copyright owners, internet users, officials and lawmakers ended in hostility on Wednesday, paving the way for further delays and filibustering for the ill-fated copyright bill.
A representative in favour of more protection for Internet users walked out towards the end of the two-hour meeting, while copyright owners stood firm on their opposition to counterproposals by pan-democrats. The government, too, cast doubt on further amendments before a legislative vote on its existing proposal.
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The person who walked out was Ah Ling of the Concern Group of Rights of Derivative Works. She complained that participants were just repeating their positions.
The Bar Association weighed in on the controversy and sided with copyright owners in disagreeing with any hybrid of alternative exemptions favoured by pan-democrats and internet users.
Lawmakers from both the pro- establishment and pan-democratic camps asked the government to propose something new. In particular they called for a “limited” adoption of the “fair use” model used in the United States.
“I told the government [during the meeting] there should be a conservative version of fair use,” Civic Party lawmaker Dennis Kwok said. “The pro-establishment side agreed it’s a good proposal.”
