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Central News Agency: Democratic Party Reveals that More People in Hong Kong Are Against Legislation Based on Article 23 of Hong Kong Basic Law
Clearwisdom.net) Central News Agency reported on October 30 that in a
recently conducted survey of five hundred Hong Kong citizens by the (Hong Kong)
Democratic Party, 40% were against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's
proposal to create new legislation based on Article 23 of the Basic Law. This is
a 6% increase from the survey conducted three weeks ago. Of the interviewees 28%
supported the legislation, which is a decrease of 4%. Democratic Party Chairman, Li Zhuming, said at today's Press Conference that
the survey indicates that as more Hong Kong residents are discussing Article 23,
and more will oppose the new legislation that plans to be made from it. Article 23 of the Basic Law, which was passed in 1990, states: "The Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of
treason, secession, sedition and subversion against the Central People's
Government, to prohibit theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political
organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the region, and
to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the region from establishing
ties with foreign political organizations or bodies." Since Hong Kong returned to China, the Special Administrative Region
Government has been running Hong Kong according to the Basic Law. No legislation
has been implemented based on Article 23 so far. It is generally understood that
the Special Administrative Region Government is very cautious about Article 23,
since it is very sensitive (in regards to jeopardizing the basic freedoms of
Hong Kong citizens). Actually, Hong Kong society takes different stances
regarding the government's creation of new legislation according to the Basic
Law. While local democratic groups, such as the Democratic Party and Hong Kong
Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement of China firmly oppose the
legislation, quite a few other groups support the legislation because they think
it will help stop any crimes of sedition and secession from occurring. They feel
that other countries and regions should also create similar laws as well. Currently, it seems inevitable that the Special Administrative Region
Government will create new legislation based on Article 23. What the outside
world is most concerned about is how this legislation will affect one's freedom
to practice Falun Gong, be a member of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of
Patriotic Democratic Movement of China, or make speeches regarding Taiwanese
Independence, Tibetan Independence and Xinjiang Independence. All of these
topics have been frequently debated in Hong Kong during recent years. Posting date: 11/8/2002 |