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AP: Planned Hong Kong Security Law Draws Fire
December 26, 2002 HONG KONG (AP) - Five years after Hong Kong's return to China, its
capitalists are still capitalists and its freedoms are largely intact. But
critics say a planned anti-subversion law is posing the worst threat yet to
those liberties. The legislation is supposed to protect national security, but pro-democracy
politicians, human rights campaigners and others say Hong Kong's civil rights
and credibility as a financial hub are at stake. "In China, similar subversion laws are regularly used to convict and
imprison journalists, labor activists, Internet entrepreneurs and academics,''
Brad Adams, the Asia executive director of Human Rights Watch, wrote in an open
letter to Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong's government leader. The issue has exploded into Hong Kong's biggest political battle since the
last months of British rule in 1997, when many were predicting a crackdown on
free speech and politics. No such crackdown materialized, but what seems ominous
to some is that while the Hong Kong government is saying it wants to consult the
public about the law, Beijing's top representative here, Gao Siren, has said the
protests will have no effect. Opponents accuse Beijing of pressuring Hong Kong. "It's a serious breach of one country, two systems,'' said opposition
lawmaker Cyd Ho, referring to the government arrangement established when Hong
Kong rejoined China on July 1, 1997, with guarantees of its freedoms and
autonomy. Hong Kong's government insists constitutional protections of free speech,
media and religion are inviolate, but many here fear the new law could be used
to muzzle dissidents and bring the tiny territory more tightly under Beijing's
thumb. "Perhaps they will use it against a few people to silence the whole
community,'' said Law Yuk-kai, director of the Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor. The law is to give police broader powers to investigate crimes against the
state, some of them carrying up to life in prison. But the problem is, the
public hasn't seen a draft text of the law, and until it's published, U.S.
Consul General James Keith said last week, "it will be hard to either
confirm or dismiss worst-case scenarios.'' Some predict officials will target the Falun Gong [...], outlawed in mainland
China [...] but still free to practice in Hong Kong. Hong Kong officials said that won't happen, and both Tung and Secretary for
Security Regina Ip insist that once the law takes effect it will be clear that
freedoms are not under threat. But the United States, Britain and Canada are among the nations raising
questions, and many here doubt the "trust me'' approach. [...] Journalists fear charges of stealing state secrets could be applied to any
publication of information that hasn't been officially released. Some executives
are concerned they could get in trouble for doing business with Taiwanese
companies whose bosses advocate formal independence from China - a concept that
Beijing regards as secession. Other business people worry about the free flow of financial information -
crucial to Hong Kong as a market center. Some analysts say Hong Kong's 6.8 million people are being dangerously split. Demonstrations by both sides have drawn crowds in numbers rivaled only by the
annual commemorations of the 1989 bloodshed at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Pro-Beijing forces seem to be asserting themselves by calling for national
unity and suggesting that to oppose the law is unpatriotic. A rally Sunday of
tens of thousands of people was full of nationalistic appeals for the
legislation. One red banner said: "Why don't you support the law if you are
not subverting the country?'' Under the terms of the change of sovereignty, Hong Kong is legally required
to enact anti-subversion legislation banning treason, sedition, secession, theft
of state secrets, activities by foreign political groups and ties between such
groups and their Hong Kong counterparts. The Hong Kong government has issued a paper soliciting public views on the
new law, and plans to pass it by July. [...] In fact, the troops have stayed discreetly inside their barracks, while Hong
Kong has buzzed along with its capitalist ways, freewheeling press and frequent
protests, he said. http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/ax/Ahong-kong-subversion.Rv6V_CDQ.html Posting date: 12/27/2002
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