By Xiaojian

(Clearwisdom.net) (Note: The reference material reprinted here was written by people who are not cultivators, and thus, their views may not be consistent with those of Falun Gong practitioners.)

Hong Kong, the Pearl of the East, was once known to enjoy complete political and economic freedom. However, a mere five years after her return to China, the proposed Article 23 of the Basic Law will completely abolish the policy that promised, "one country, two systems will not change for 50 years." If Article 23 is approved, Hong Kong will be governed by the same system that rules Mainland China. The nightmare of the people of Hong Kong will begin with Article 23.

Article 23 was written by Hong Kong's Chief Executive, Dong Jianhua, under the repeated demands of Jiang. One of the prerequisites of Dong Jianhua's re-appointment as governor of the SAR is the Article 23 legislation. This is also part of the strategy for Jiang to hold onto his own position of power. Before the 16^th Party Congress, I wrote an article stating that Jiang wanted to continue to hold onto his positions within the government of China. He is presently Chairman of the Military Committee, and he will definitely not give up this position in March of next year. Because of strong voices from within and outside the Chinese Communist Party against Jiang, he gave up his position as the General Secretary of the Party. However, he has crowded six of his loyalists into the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and has formed a "Jiang Core" consisting of this "Gang of Six." If Jiang continues to hold onto the position of Chairman of the Military Committee, turmoil in China will be unavoidable. After 13 years' rule under Jiang, democracy and the Chinese legal system have made a huge step backward. Human rights have deteriorated greatly, progress in both the military and the government has been set back, corruption is rampant, and tens of millions of people have lost their jobs. With all kind of crises reaching their peak, violent eruption within Chinese society can occur at any moment.

Jiang controls the press tightly; 300,000 "Internet police" monitor use of the Internet closely. Hong Kong is still an area that has freedom, and it is still considered the "base" for opposition forces against the Chinese Communist Party. Therefore, Jiang is terrified that the freedom of the press in Hong Kong may exert influences over Mainland China, where any truth in information has been suppressed. The Chinese Communist Party has ruled over the Chinese people by relying completely on lies. Once of the freedom of the press enjoyed in Hong Kong spreads to Mainland China, the tyrannical regime of the Chinese Communist Party will be over. This is why Jiang so badly wants Article 23 to be enacted, so he can treat the people of Hong Kong like he does the people of Mainland China. The worst nightmare in a hundred years would then descend upon the people of Hong Kong.

Every item in Article 23 can be used to put a label on anyone in Hong Kong who does not completely agree with the Party, and can punish them based on groundless accusations. According to Article 23, any group that has been banned in Mainland China under the pretext of "state security" can be banned in Hong Kong at any time, without the need for an independent consultation. According to Article 23, whoever is against the current regime is considered to be against the country. According to Article 23, the police can enter and search a household, arrest people without obtaining a court-issued warrant and without providing any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of their victim; simply the suspicion of the police can serve as sufficient evidence. According to Article 23, any statement that the Hong Kong regime considers to have "subversive" nature is punishable, whether the statement is issued orally, in writing, or through electronic media. Anyone who makes such a statement is guilty; anyone who hears such a statement is guilty; those who know about the statement but do not report it are also guilty. According to Article 23, Hong Kong residents are covered by Article 23 no matter where they live in the world. Whoever violates Article 23 can be extradited to Hong Kong for prosecution. All the people in Hong Kong, regardless of nationality (including visitors), are covered by Article 23. The punishment for breaches of Article 23 can be from 7 years to life in prison. According to Article 23, any financial institution having accounts open to individuals or groups, is subject to investigation and can be labeled as supporting illegal groups if the individuals or groups they serve have been designated as illegal. According to Article 23, family members or friends who have been accused as being members of illegal organizations, no matter where they are in the world, once they come to Hong Kong, they must be reported. Otherwise they will be labeled as "attempting to overthrow the government" or "attempting to divide the country."

All the regulations in Article 23 are actually a big backward regression for society, for human rights. It is the partisan seduction of law. The six million citizens of Hong Kong are faced with a critical choice.

No feudalist monarchy throughout Chinese history has ever been so corrupt, so tyrannical, so ruthless in persecuting its own people, and so lawless as the current Chinese Communist regime. Article 23 is going to drag Hong Kong ¨Ca civilized, democratic, and prosperous society ¨C back to a society under the rule of the Chinese dictatorship. The people who have lived in Hong Kong for generations have witnessed the great exodus of the 1950s and 1960s. Millions of Chinese people risked their lives to flee from Mainland China to Hong Kong.

Article 23 will again transform Hong Kong into a horrifying living hell. Each item in Article 23 can turn a citizen of Hong Kong, who loves freedom, democracy and righteousness, into a prisoner ¨C unless he wants to be a slave of the Party and give up his own thoughts. The fate of the Hong Kong people relies on their own initiative to act against this proposed tyranny. Please stand up to safeguard your own fate and say NO to Dong Jianhua with the courage displayed by the millions of people who stood up on June 4, 1989. Otherwise, once Article 23 takes effect, calamities will be visited not only upon the shoulders of six million Hong Kong residents but also upon the people of the whole world. Millions will flee Hong Kong to seek freedom, thus bringing economic disaster and human tragedy to the world.

Five years after Hong Kong returned to China, the political system has been set backward. The economy has stagnated. The power of the dictatorship has been expanding, and the people of Hong Kong have been brainwashed. The number of slave-like puppets in positions of power has been rising. At this crucial moment before Article 23 takes effect, it is time for the people of Hong Kong to completely wake up!

Hong Kong belongs to the people of Hong Kong; the people of Hong Kong must control their own destiny. People throughout the world are concerned over the fate of Hong Kong. Hong Kong should become the power base that propels the great civilization of China forward once again.

Posting date: 12/25/2002
Original article date: 12/25/2002
Category: Open Forum
Translated on 12/23/2002
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/12/21/41450.html

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