The Public Order Ordinance () () (’POO’) is a piece of primary legislation in Hong Kong. It codifies a number of old common law public order offences. It imposes notification requirements for public processions and meetings which resemble a licensing regime. It also provides for the designation of restricted areas along the Hong Kong-China border and in the military installations. The 1967 Ordinance was enacted in the aftermath of the 1967 Leftist riots. For the following decades, the stringent control over public processions and meetings was relaxed incrementally until 1990s when it was brought in line with human rights standards. Upon Hong Kong handover, the amendments in the 1990s were decreed "not adopted as the laws of the HKSAR" by the NPCSC of China and therefore reverted. History Colonial period A 1948 Ordinance of the same short title was enacted in 1948 by the British colonial government. The 1948 Ordinance transplanted the Public Order Act 1936 in the United Kingdom and the binding over procedure in the criminal code of Straits Settlements. It provided for the designation of restricted areas along the Hong Kong-China border. The Public Ordinance Ordinance, 1967 was enacted in the aftermath of the 1967 Leftist riots. The government relied on a number of emergency laws to suppress the prolonged unrest. The bill was published on 6 October 1967 and was passed into law on 15 November 1967 by the Legislative Council. The 1967 version of the law was a consolidation of various pieces of preexisting legislation with some substantive amendments. Before the enactment of the 1967 POO, the law dealing with public order was to be found in a previous POO, the Peace Preservation Ordinance, the Summary Offences Ordinance and in the common law. Under the revised POO in 1980, it generated a licensing system for gatherings in public place. The Public Order (Amendment) Bill 1986 raised concerns over the threat to freedom of speech as the government on the one hand took some potentially oppressive measures including its power to seize and suppress newspapers and other publications, off the books, but on the other hand strengthened provisions against "false news": the new provision stated that "any person who publishes false news likely to cause alarm to the public or a section thereof or disturb public order shall be guilty of an offence." The pro-democrats argued the definition of "false news" was not clearly defined. In