SCMP: Legislation 'may Target Falun Gong'

By Angela Li

One of the first targets of new security legislation might be the Falun Gong rather than pro-democracy activists and politicians, Human Rights Monitor predicts. In its latest report, the human rights watchdog notes that as the conflict between the spiritual group and Beijing continues for a third year, the mainland Government has a variety of methods, including the state security provisions of the Chinese Criminal Code, to suppress the movement.

"The use of state security provisions is an excellent example of political repression by law: the peaceful communication, protest and spiritual practice of Falun Gong is 'illegal' under the Criminal Code, despite the largely peaceful and non-political character of most Falun Gong activity," the report said.

On the mainland, members of heretical organisations who steal state secrets are liable to the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Human Rights Monitor was concerned that, in contrast with international standards, "state secrets" includes material that does not compromise national security, including government documents and regulations on the crackdown against Falun Gong members.

In one case, Xu Xinmu, a personnel officer for the city of Shijiazhuang in Hebei province, was sentenced to four years in prison for contacting fellow Falun Gong practitioners over the Internet to warn them of a forthcoming crackdown by the Government.

"It is unlikely that such flagrant abuse of the law would happen in Hong Kong. Yet if Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's comments on Falun Gong are to be taken seriously, then there is cause for concern that the SAR Government may try to accomplish the same thing on a lesser scale," the report said.

[...]

The human rights watchdog warns that the SAR Government would find itself under pressure to come up with a method of its own to keep the spiritual group under control if Beijing became unhappy that the [group] was still active in Hong Kong.

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