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Stuart Lau

As of 1pm on Friday, Hong Kong lawmakers failed to vote on the government’s copyright amendment bill. The development prompted commerce minister Greg So Kam-leung to announce the bill would be abandoned and no consultation would take place in the administration’s remaining term.
The victory for pan-democrats and internet users who were distrustful of the bill’s objective and implications concluded a heated political battle. Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 was the result of more than a decade of controversy stemming from loopholes in the existing law that made it difficult to fight piracy on the internet.
The administration had been under fire from the global business community because the copyright law was deemed outdated and lagged behind international standards.
READ MORE: Hong Kong copyright bill debate enters final 48 hours after latest compromise bid fails
The government tabled a bill in 2012 but withdrew it after strong opposition. The later-amended bill included six exemptions meant to allay concerns over freedom of expression.
Here are five reasons the latest bill failed.
Pan-democrats’ changing stance
While the 27 pan-democrats were initially happy with the draft bill – after all, it learned from the failed legislative bid four years ago and included six exemptions that would cover parody – they started to say no to it after detecting public disfavour on the internet. Some of those who refused to join the filibuster at the start of the second reading late last year were named by monitoring groups and publicised online. Since then, all of them either spoke actively during debates, or stayed away from the chamber.
Internet users’ distrust
Internet concern groups played an active role in influencing not only the general attitude of the public, but also the stance of pan-democratic lawmakers. One of the most vocal groups, Keyboard Frontline, published a series of posts to rebut the government’s explanation of the bill as one that would protect internet users’ rights. It said there would still be loopholes under the law and it should not allow the government to prosecute internet users for non-commercial use of copyrighted materials. Against the backdrop of a politically hostile atmosphere, more members of the public feared the possibility the government could use the legislation to prosecute people who used copyrighted materials, also described as secondary creations, to mock politicians.
READ MORE: Kill bill: Hong Kong government minister hits out at pan-democrats over copyright bill filibuster
Government’s failure to act as mediator
According to both pan-democrats and some pro-establishment lawmakers, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So Kam-leung failed in his role as a mediator to bridge differences over the legislation on a supposedly not-too-politically-sensitive issue and reacted too slowly to public opinion. That was especially true during the later stage of the debates, when he repeatedly turned down requests for refining the bill after a meeting with four factions involved in the debate. So kept saying he had to balance the interests of copyright owners, among other stakeholders. He also repeatedly cited Bar Association and Law Society statements to justify the legislative project, but declined to accommodate internet users in the past month or two.
Copyright owners’ resistance
Copyright owners, including movie and music industry insiders, exerted considerable pressure on the government and refused to adopt further amendments to the bill as requested by pan-democrats. Even during a later stage when pan-democrats were prepared to come up with a concession to accept “limited fair use”, they shunned the idea and said they would rather return to the existing law with no amendment at all.
Filibuster-friendly rules in Legco
The Legislative Council faced many filibusters in the past, but nothing quite like this one. Pan-democrats unleashed the possibility of calling quorum bells whenever a few pro-establishment lawmakers left the chamber; at the same time, most of their allies stayed away from the meetings to facilitate quorum requests. Pro-establishment lawmakers later kept to their seats and had a break only for the first 15 minutes of each hour. So, who had treated them with egg tarts and cheesecakes to thank them for their hard work and assistance, might find it hard in future to ask for more favours after the past four months of nearly-perfect cooperation.


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Man found guilty of causing Hong Kong Legco bin explosion in protest at ‘Internet Article 23’

Hong Kong student caught with ‘smoke cakes’ near Legco protest given three-month jail term

Hong Kong copyright bill

Five reasons the Hong Kong copyright bill failed

Legislator Leung Kwok-hung fought against the copyright bill. Photo: Dickson Lee

Kill bill: Hong Kong government minister hits out at pan-democrats over copyright bill filibuster

Commerce minister Greg So declared his unhappiness with pan-democrat tactics. Photo: Sam Tsang

Legislator Albert Chan Wai-yip speaks during the second reading of the copyright amendment bill at Legco Chamber in Tamar. 16DEC15 SCMP/ Dickson Lee

It is in Hong Kong’s interest for the copyright bill to be passed

Legislator Leung Kwok-hung meet media on the copyright bill at the Legco Complex in Tamar. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong government’s shelving of controversial copyright bill: what went wrong?

Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So Kam-leung addresses the press over the reform’s failure. Photo: Dickson Lee

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Hong Kong

Politics

The political drama explained as Legislative Council debate ended over the controversial legislation
