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Hong Kong has no laws treating child pornography as a specific offense. The 11 March
decision of a stiff sentence for posting child pornography on the internet should serve as a
wake-up call that Hong Kong has a moral obligation - and an obligation under the
Convention on the Rights of the Child - to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of
children. Hong Kong needs specific child protection legislation against both child
pornography and Hong Kong-based child sex tourism.
The Government does not keep statistics on seizures of pornographic materials or
prosecutions for distributing pornography specific to children. However informal Police
Department figures reveal that child pornography in Hong Kong is a problem. Child
pornographic materials seized by the Police in the past three years include 500 magazines,
53 video tapes and 405 floppy disks. During that same period the Police uncovered 30
websites, 28 newsgroups and 31 bulletin board systems, one with 1,295 active users,
created by Hong Kong-based pedophiles. The significant amount of internet-based
materials indicates a local market in cyber-porn that poses a threat in and outside of Hong
Kong. There is no legislative basis on which to prosecute those caught using these
materials, and no specific basis on which to prosecute those involved in pornography
relating to children.

At present the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (cap. 390) covers both
adult and child pornography. Publishing, and possessing or importing for the purpose of
publishing obscene or indecent articles, whether or not for profit, is an offence punishable
by fine and imprisonment. The proliferation of locally-produced pornographic materials is
overseen by the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority.

Child pornography is a serious offence, and should be treated as a crime under the Crimes
Ordinance. The current legislation does not adequately address the extensive connection
between child pornographic materials and exploitative, underage sexual activities.

Dangerous Nature of Child Pornography

For a variety of reasons, child pornography is more serious than adult pornography.
Children are less able to make independent decisions, and thus their involvement in
pornography is extremely harmful exploitation. Child pornography is often used to break
down children's barriers and encourage them to participate in other more heinous acts.
There is much less of a profit to be made from child pornography than from its adult
counterpart, and those who engage in it do so primarily for their own satisfaction. Child
pornography has a much more specific and disturbed clientele, many of whom congregate
within the Asia-Pacific region.

Hong Kong Has Responsibility

As a leader in the region, Hong Kong has the responsibility also to take action against the
international problem of child sex tourism. According to End Child Prostitution in Asian
Tourism (ECPAT), an international NGO, tourism is a major contributing factor in the growth
of the sexual exploitation of children. Many areas in Southeast Asia, such as the
Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, have a well-established industry of underage
prostitution, and have become the regular haunts for international pedophiles. Given the
frequency of Hong Kong-based travel throughout the region, there is little doubt that Hong
Kong is home to pedophiles; the Police Force's Child Protection Policy Unit has details of
known expatriate pedophiles using Hong Kong as their base for regional activities.

For all of these reasons, many jurisdictions within the region - including Taiwan, the
Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Australia - and the United States and most European countries
have enacted specific legislation against the production, sale and distribution, and in most
cases the possession of child pornography. Tokyo launched similar legislation this month.
A number of these states have also enacted laws specifically against child sex tourism; the
laws in part provide for extraterritorial jurisdiction, so that their nationals can be prosecuted
at home for acts committed abroad.

Hong Kong has no system to monitor or regulate against locally based regional sex
tourism, and thus we cannot measure the scale of activities. Yet given Hong Kong's
position as a center of the Asia-Pacific region, in which underage prostitution and
international sex tourism is a serious problem, Hong Kong has a regional obligation to act
against regional child sex tourism. While the gravity of the problem may be difficult to
document, the very heinousness of the trade and the fact that it is on the rise in the region
should be sufficient to warrant specific legislation, monitoring and enforcement.

Recognizing that:

In relation to child pornography, acts are connected to materials;
Both acts and materials circulate on a regional basis; and

The regional and Hong Kong-based industries of child sex tourism and child pornography
are growing,
Citizens Party calls for a concerted effort to document the extent of the problem of child
pornography in Hong Kong - including the prevalence of child pornographic materials
produced in Hong Kong and those imported from abroad, and information about those
responsible for it.

Citizens Party calls for specific legislation against the production, sale and distribution,
import/export, publication and possession - whether or not it is meant for publication - of
child pornography.

There is also a specific need for more information on the prevalence of Hong Kong-based
child sex tourism, and for legislation including extraterritorial jurisdiction in prosecuting
Hong Kong-based international sex tourists for documented acts committed abroad. While
prosecutions of international child sex tourists in Asia are growing, they pale in comparison
to the scale of the problem. Even when offenders are caught, all but a very few escape
prosecution. Hong Kong can fulfill a regional obligation by enacting and enforcing
legislation to make these acts a crime under Hong Kong law.

Hong Kong must take action to ensure that this is not a safe place for pedophiles to live
and work.