Freedom of Association in Hong Kong, Great Britain and The United Essay

Freedom of Association in Hong Kong, Great Britain and The United States - Essay Example The paper tells that in Hong Kong, the principle piece of legislation which details the country's position on Freedom of Association is the Societies Ordinance. This ordinance is concerned with the registration of societies, and the rights of societies, so it implicates Hong Kong's Freedom of Association. In order to fully understand the impact of this piece of legislation, it has to be broken down in pieces and analyzed in this manner. First of all, Section 5 of this law states that societies within Hong Kong must register with the Societies Officer within 1 month of the formation of that particular society. The application form for registering must include the name of the society, along with the society's purpose. That said, societies may be exempt from the registration requirement if they are to be established for the benefit of a religion, a charity, or social and recreational purpose. The Societies Officer may refuse to register a society if the Office believes that refusing to register the society is in the interest of the people or the government, in that the society somehow implicates national security, public safety, public order, or the rights and freedoms of others. Furthermore, the Societies Officer may refuse to register a society which has connections with the government of Taiwan, or has a connection with a political organization in Taiwan. The Societies Officer may also cancel the registration of a society, or the exemption from registration for a society, for the same reasons why The Societies Officer may deny an initial application. ... l its case to the Chief Executive in Council.8 If the society appeals, then the society may function during the period of time that the Chief Executive in Council is considering the appeal.9 If the Societies Officer cancels a registration, the society has a right to appeal this as well.10 What the effect is of not being able to register with the Societies Officer, or having a registration cancelled, is draconian – that society would have to cease operations, and if they do not, the officers of the society are subject to fine or imprisonment.11 Moreover, â€Å"triad,† or criminal, societies are automatically deemed to be unlawful.12 Discussion Hong Kong In looking at this portion of the Societies Ordinance, it becomes clear that there is not truly freedom of association in Hong Kong. A number of elements in the ordinance stand out. First, the Societies Officer appears to have a great degree of power in deciding who gets registered as a society and who does not. The Socie ties Officer must only decide that national security, public safety, public order, or the rights and freedoms of others is implicated by the formation of a particular society, and this is deemed as a reason to deny that society the benefits of registration.13 These exceptions are vague and overly broad, and seems like a great number of legitimate societies could somehow fit into one of the categories above. For instance, if a society is deemed to infringe on the rights and freedoms of others, what does that mean? What rights? What freedoms? Also, how does the Societies Officer determine if public order or public safety are implicated? National security may seem obvious, in that if a society is formed which is in opposition to national security goals, then this society may not be registered, but even

Economics For Business, The Canadian Economy in the years 2006, 2007 Essay

Economics For Business, The Canadian Economy in the years 2006, 2007 until end of 2008 - Essay Example The government has catalysed saving by reducing taxes and providing non-taxable savings accounts. (conservative.ca, 2009) Fundamentally, the main objective of the monetary policy of Canada is to ensure Canadian citizen’s wellbeing. This is by enhancing an economic growth that is sustained, increasing employment levels as well as improved standards of living. From experience, monetary policy only achieves this goal by way of offering businesses and households’ confidence as far as the value of money is concerned. In 2008, October 23rd the Bank of Canada released a report on monetary policy. The report contained current financial and economic trends in line with the control of inflation is concerned. According to the report, the three main interrelated world developments are affecting the economy of Canada and resulting to the economic growth outlook more unpredictable. This is due to the world financial crisis resulting to major strains in the markets of financial instruments. Demand is prospected to continue being weak due to exports. Lower prices of goods and services will also lead to an outlook that is damp since the terms of trade for Canada are set to decline as well as a growth in domestic demand that’s moderate. Generally, the Bank of Canada predicts a real GDP growth of 0.6% in years 2008 and 2009. 2010’s is set to be 3.4%. (bankofcanada.ca, 2008) In the 2009’s monetary policy report, the Bank of Canada noted that the economic environment continues to highly unpredictable. This is due to the large negative impacts by the recession of the global economy. Emanating from this, the Canadian economy is projected to fall by 3.0% in the year 2009. Recovery is likely to occur in the fourth quarter and the projected growth in the real GDP is 2.5% in year 2010. 2011’s economic growth is set to be 4.7%. The core