403. In his reply, the representative of the State party explained that although the Government was aware that the current legal situation with regard to blaGphemy was unsatisfactory, it did not believe that the necessary consensus existed to change it. Furthermore, the fact that the law did not apply to all religions did not contravene article 18 of the Covenant. The Official Secrets Act did not make provision for a “public good” defence but wa6 concerned witb matters involving “serious harm to the interests of the country”. It had not yet been extended to the dependent territories. The Government believed that the Broadcasting Ban had been highly effective and that the deregulation of broadcasting under the 1909 Broadcasting Bill would l.ead to greater freedom of expression. The intent of the Cable and Broadcasting Act was to establish independent radio and television COndSGiOn6 and to guard against fomenting terrorism through publicity. The role of the new Radio Authority was to license and regulate broadcasting, and the Press Complaints Commission had been established by the press itself in response to widespread complaints about the press. A case concerning restrictions on press coverage of court proceedings was before the European Court of Human Such restrictions were carefully designed to strike a balance between Rights. freedom of expression and the proper administratun of justice. 404. DeCiGiOnS to proscribe organisations were subject to full parliamentary controls. Under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1909, the maximum penalty for membership in a proscribed orqanization was i.mprisonment not exceeding 10 years, and mere membership in such orqanieation was considered an offence. However, in cases where a person had been a member of an orqanieation before it had been proscribed, and where that person had not taken an active role in the organisation after its proscription, there was a defence to t.le offence of membership. Very few organisations had been proscribed under the legislation and those that were, were proscribed because of their involvement in terrorism. There were no plans to introduce changes in the privileges enjoyed by the Church of England, which, in the view of the Government, were reasonable. 405. With involving Ordinance permission Uaht regard to prohibitions of public meetings in Hong Kong, meetings more than the numbers of people specified in the Public Order required the permission of the Commissioner of Police, such having been withheld on six occasions in 1989 and 1990. to warticipate in the conduct of public aff&& 406. With regard to that issue, members of the Committee wished to receive illformation on the Government’s plans, if any, for affirmative action to promote greater opportunitiec for the employment of members of ethnic minorities and women in the judiciary, Parliament and local government and the higher grades of the civil service, They also wished to know what the legal basis was for the “positive vetting” of certain candidates for the civil service: how the condition of susceptibility to pressure from certain organizations or groups had been interpreted in practice; whether there was a remedy for the unsuccessful candidate: and whether consideration had been given to changinq the simple majority procedure in the British electoral System. Clarification was also sought of restrictions to electoral campaign expenditures under British election law and of the apparent contradiction between prohibiting members of political parties from holding civil service posts while allowing members of the civil service to enter politics. -lOl-