Emergency Regulations Ordinance
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
  • An Ordinance to to confer on the Chief Executive in Council power to make regulations on occasions of emergency or public danger.[1]
CitationCap. 241
Enacted byLegislative Council of Hong Kong
Enacted28 February 1922
Status: Current legislation

The Emergency Regulations Ordinance (Cap. 241) was a law introduced in Colonial Hong Kong in 1922 to combat seamen’s strikes in Hong Kong which had immobilised the city's ports.[2]

In case of emergency or public danger, it can be invoked by the Governor in Council. Under the provisions of the Ordinance, the Governor has the power to make "any regulations whatsoever which he may consider desirable in the public interest." Its provisions include arrests, property seizures, deportation, control of the ports and transportation, and censorship.[3][4]

Context

In January 1922, the Chinese Seamen’s Union demanded pay rises of up to 40% from their local employers, and some 30,000 Chinese seamen went on strike. Their grievances lay in the fact that the average Chinese port worker's monthly income was insufficient to support his family while his Caucasian counterparts, who earned several times more, had been granted 15% wage rise. The Emergency Regulations Ordinance was passed by the colonial government that year – enacted in a single day – to combat the strikes, which paralysed the ports.[2]

Provisions

  1. On any occasion which the Chief Executive in Council may consider to be an occasion of emergency or public danger he may make any regulations whatsoever which he may consider desirable in the public interest.
  2. such regulations may provide for
    1. censorship, and the control and suppression of publications, writings, maps, plans, photographs, communications and means of communication;
    2. arrest, detention, exclusion and deportation;
    3. control of the harbours, ports and waters of Hong Kong, and the movements of vessels;
    4. transportation by land, air or water, and the control of the transport of persons and things;
    5. trading, exportation, importation, production and manufacture;
    6. appropriation, control, forfeiture and disposition of property, and of the use thereof;
    7. amending any enactment, suspending the operation of any enactment and applying any enactment with or without modification;
    8. authorising the entry and search of premises;
    9. empowering such authorities or persons as may be specified in the regulations to make orders and rules and to make or issue notices, licences, permits, certificates or other documents for the purposes of the regulations;
    10. charging, in respect of the grant or issue of any licence, permit, certificate or other document for the purposes of the regulations, such fees as may be prescribed by the regulations;
    11. the taking of possession or control on behalf of the Chief Executive of any property or undertaking;
    12. requiring persons to do work or render services;
    13. payment of compensation and remuneration to persons affected by the regulations and the determination of such compensation; and
    14. the apprehension, trial and punishment of persons offending against the regulations or against any law in force in Hong Kong

Invocation

Since the law was written, it has only been invoked once: during the 1967 Hong Kong riots. The authority granted to censor specifically covers "the control and suppression of publications, writings, maps, plans, photographs, communications and means of communication."[3][4] Scholars consider the law "a nuclear option" which "can literally run a dictatorship and suspend most rights."[3]

Although the legislation was enacted before the existence of the Internet, the Chief Executive would have the power under the ordinance to order private telecommunication companies to cut internet services delivered through fixed-line and mobile phone networks. Alternatively, telecoms providers could be mandated to take other measures including slowing internet speeds, disabling particular mobile phone networks and public WiFi spots or blocking certain websites and platforms.[4]

Modern-day implications

Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, said on 27 August that the government would use existing laws to put a stop to violence and chaos, after Sing Tao Daily said the government was considering invoking the Ordinance in an attempt to stop the 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Edward Yau, said he did not rule out the option.

References

  1. ^ "Cap. 241 Emergency Regulations Ordinance". Hong Kong e-Legislation.
  2. ^ a b "Hong Kong mulls over emergency law to quell protests". South China Morning Post. 30 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Yu, Verna (28 August 2019). "'A nuclear option': Hong Kong and the threat of the emergency law". The Guardian.
  4. ^ a b c "How Hong Kong protests could lead to internet cut-off". Bloomberg. 30 August 2019.
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