Daily Archives: March 22, 2012

Phila Siu

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Talking to the broadcaster yesterday, Tang said he revealed Leung's views on the matter last week because he knew his rival candidate for chief executive "stands a real chance of getting elected" and the public deserve to know what kind of leader they are getting.

During Friday's TV debate, Tang also accused Leung of urging that riot police and tear gas be deployed against demonstrators after 500,000 people took to the streets to protest a proposed anti-subversion law on July 1, 2003.

Tang was secretary for commerce, industry and technology at the time, while Leung was Executive Council convener.

Tang also said the two revelations were not premeditated, explaining that Leung provoked him by mentioning his extramarital affairs and referring to a sofa in his office that an alleged mistress reportedly referred to in an e-mail.

"He made use of unconfirmed information, and that was mean and shameful," Tang said.

He said Leung called for a shortening of Commercial Radio's license from 12 to three years in an Exco meeting after the 2003 protest, in a bid to muzzle hosts Raymond "Mad Dog" Wong Yuk-man and Albert Cheng King-hon.

Leung said the pair "were being tough with the government in that they kept criticizing it," Tang alleged. "He [Leung] suggested making use of the licence

But Tang had insisted the license period not be shortened because freedom of speech is one of the SAR's core values.

Here is the original post:
Tang planned to quit for free speech sake

I need to start this off with a note to the editor:

Put a bright yellow border around this column with the words "Designated Free Speech Area" stenciled in.

That would match what Modesto city officials recently imposed upon the sidewalk at the transportation center downtown.

This episode involves Kevin Borden, who in 2009 received a $1 settlement in federal court from the city after it stopped him from preaching fire-and-brimstone sermons in front of Brenden Theatres at Tenth Street Place. The city also had to pay $35,000 to cover his legal fees.

Ultimately, he took his pulpit to the transportation center, preaching atop a box near the ticket office and infor- mation booth.

On Dec. 6, according to documents, some bus riders complained about him and particularly how loudly he spoke in the always noisy bus depot.

Marcie Garza, who has dispensed tickets and route information for the past six years, said that while he didn't bother her, he did bother some of the bus riders. A policeman told him to move and he refused, again challenging the city.

The city's legal department determined that it controls the "time, place or manner" of protected speech in public. Because the depot wasn't created for the "purposes of assembly, communicating thoughts between citizens, and discussing public questions," it could decide where on the premises he could exercise his free speech rights.

Hence, it created the "Designated Free Speech Area" on a sidewalk about 25 yards away, closer to where riders board the lesser-used county buses and next to the Union Pacific tracks. It's a box painted on the sidewalk.

Remember the TV show "WKRP in Cincinnati," when ag reporter Les Nessman taped lines on the floor to act as the walls of his imaginary "office"? It's that kind of thing.

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JARDINE: Yellow stripes clash with red, white and blue