The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China:-

Article 4
“The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall safeguard the rights and freedoms of the residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and of other persons in the Region in accordance with law.”

Article 11
“In accordance with Article 31 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, the systems and policies practised in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, including the social and economic systems, the system for safeguarding the fundamental rights and freedoms of its residents, the executive, legislative and judicial systems, and the relevant policies, shall be based on the provisions of this Law.
No law enacted by the legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall contravene this Law.”

Article 27
“Hong Kong residents shall have freedom of speech, of the press and of publication; freedom of association, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration; and the right and freedom to form and join trade unions, and to strike.”

‘Freedom of speech’ involves being able to speak freely without censorship. Often regarded as an integral concept in modern liberal democracies, the right to freedom of speech is guaranteed under international law through numerous human rights instruments, notably Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The synonymous term ‘freedom of expression’ is sometimes preferred, since the right is not confined to verbal speech but is understood to protect any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.

In practice, the right to freedom of speech is not absolute in any country. Rather, the degree of freedom varies greatly. Different countries have varying approaches to balancing freedom with order. For instance, the USA’s constitutional First Amendment theoretically grants absolute freedom, placing the burden upon the state to demonstrate when (if) a limitation of this freedom is necessary. In almost all liberal democracies, it is generally recognized that restrictions should be the exception and free expression the rule, but compliance with this principle is often lacking.