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Following is a question by the Hon Lau Kong-wah and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Frederick Ma, in the Legislative Council today (March 5):
Question:
It has been reported that some countries have implemented classification systems for electronic toy products whereby manufacturers classify products according to their contents and affix classification labels on them to indicate the age groups for which the products are suitable. However, a similar classification system is not implemented in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it will require sellers to retain the classification labels on electronic toy products imported from foreign countries and assist them in providing Chinese explanations of such labels; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(b) it will make reference to overseas experience and set up a classification system for electronic toy products that suits the circumstances in Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
The Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (COIAO) (Cap 390) is applicable to all articles distributed in Hong Kong, including computer or video electronic game products. According to the COIAO, "obscenity" and "indecency" are defined to include violence, depravity and repulsiveness. If an electronic game product is classified by the Obscene Articles Tribunal as a Class II (Indecent) article, it must not be published to persons under the age of 18. When published to persons aged 18 or above, certain statutory requirements have to be complied with, including the sealing of the article in wrappers and displaying a statutory warning notice on the front and back covers of the article. Electronic game products classified as Class III (Obscene) are strictly prohibited from publication under the COIAO. Any electronic game product suspected to be in breach of the law may be submitted by the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority to the Tribunal for classification. On top of that, retailers may also submit any electronic game products to the Tribunal for classification, ensuring such products can be distributed in accordance with the statue.
My reply to the Hon Mr Lau's question is as follows:
(a) Classification or labelling systems for electronic game products are voluntary in nature, rather than statutorily required. Although Hong Kong does not have any existing legislation requiring retailers to provide such labels, our observation is that most electronic game products imported into Hong Kong and some locally produced for export have the classification labels retained or affixed when being sold in Hong Kong. Our local industry also intends to publicise popular electronic game products and their classifications online for reference by the public.
(b) With the COIAO in place, the Government has no plan to introduce a separate classification system for electronic game products. We will liaise with the industry to strengthen the publicity and public education on the COIAO.
Ends/Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:40
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