Absolute rational logic has taken over the debate on free speech and what is considered obscene in Hong Kong, giving the argument the flavor of absolute irrationality.

As of Wednesday evening, there are 1,046 complaints against the Bible compared with 168 complaints against student publications, which on Tuesday, were given a Category II rating by the Obscene Articles Tribunal.

All, but two complaints against the Bible--one by fax and the other over the phone--were in the form of emails, a Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority (TELA) spokeswoman said.

She said the authority is studying whether to refer the complaints to the tribunal for classification.
TELA also received another 10 complaints against Student Press Wednesday, pushing the total to 168 so far.

The anonymous Webmaster of the Chinese site, www.truthbible.net, which has launched the latest campaign against the Bible, said its servers have been under hacker attacks on Wednesday from 11am to 3pm, and some of the letters sent to TELA during that period might be generated by an automated program.

"We urge people to resend their complaint letters to TELA," the page reads.

The anonymous Webmaster did not rule out reporting the suspected hacker attacks to police for further investigation.

He also stressed he did not know any of the Chinese University students involved in the journal saga, or that the campaign was in response to the tribunal's ruling.

The Webmaster wrote in a letter to the authority that about 70 excerpts in a Chinese Union version of the holy text contained material on incest, rape, violence and cannibalism, which was "far beyond commonly acceptable moral standards of society".

But don't count on me alone. Roland Soong highlighted the issues as well and you can bet that it's pretty on the mark.

What I've always loved and disliked about Hong Kong is that there is always a conflict between its logical straight-laced conservatives and its wild and chaotic lifestyle.

 

rion
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