(Clearwisdom.net)

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are Falun Gong practitioners in Italy. We read the Hong Kong government's consultation documents regarding the Article 23 legislation and consulted the background of related legislation about Article 23. We are writing this letter to express our deep concerns about this legislation.

Before publishing the consultation documents concerning Article 23, the Hong Kong government did not consult the Hong Kong people regarding whether this kind of law is needed or not. Based on the reports from western media, on December 15^th, about 60,000 people spontaneously poured into the streets to take part in a protest against the Article 23 legislation. This was the biggest demonstration since Hong Kong was retuned to China. This obviously indicates that the Article 23 legislation must not comply with the will of the Hong Kong people. Hong Kong has been prosperous for many years without this law. Why is the Beijing government so urgently pushing the enactment of this so-called anti-subversion law after only 5 years of Hong Kong's return?

Based on the proposal in the Article 23 legislation, any organisations that are banned in Mainland China under the excuse of national security, their sub-branches must be banned in Hong Kong as well. The police do not need to have a warrant to enter and search people's dwellings and to arrest people. The police's suspicion can be considered as evidence. Any opinion which the Hong Kong government considers as instigation, can be punished, regardless of whether this opinion is in oral, written, or electronic form. Not only is the person who publishes this opinion guilty, but also the recipient is guilty if he or she fails to report the matter to the government. Information that has not been published by the government must not be published; otherwise it will be regarded as revealing national secrets. The anti-subversion law applies to all Hong Kong inhabitants wherever they are, and anyone who violates this law will be extradited to Hong Kong. This law also applies to everyone inside HKSAR regardless of nationality (including those people who visit HK). Any person who violates the law could be put in prison for from 7 years (for light situations) to life (for serious situations). So it is possible for any person at any time to be found guilty due to Article 23. Article 23 looks like a sword hanging over the Hong Kong people's head. It makes everyone feel endangered.

Article 23 will also bring a huge negative influence on business circles of Hong Kong. Hong Kong has become famous for its free circulation of information and the open environment of its economy. This is also an important reason why Hong Kong has unceasing business opportunities. If Hong Kong's media and enterprises do not dare to report and collect the political and economical information due to being afraid of offending the so-called "revealing national secrets" crime stated in Article 23, Hong Kong's citizens will be deprived of freedom and Hong Kong's prosperity will vanish.

The media in HK and all over the world, legal groups, religious organisations, reporters associations, human right associations, education institutions, as well as the business circles have all expressed their deep concerns about the fuzzy definitions of some legal clauses in the Article 23. According to international standards, all legal clauses must be accurate and specific. However, the fuzziness of the Article 23 legislation may easily deprive the citizens' basic rights under the name of "harming national security". This is exactly how the authorities in Mainland China persecute religious organisations, Falun Gong practitioners, dissidents, Internet users, scholars and reporters under "harming national security".

Over the past three years, since July 1999, Jiang Zemin's regime has been persecuting innocent Falun Gong practitioners relentlessly So far at least 528 Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death. On June 25^th 1999, the Chinese vice-premier, Mr. Qian Qichen, explicitly expressed the intentions that Falun Gong and other organisations must be banned after the Article 23 legislation has been implemented. If the Article 23 legislation has been enacted, the tyranny of Mainland China, the reckless infringement on human rights, and especially the persecutions against Falun Gong, will extend to Hong Kong.

From ancient times to the present, legislators are also restricted by the same laws they enact. You and your family also live in Hong Kong. Please do not forget, if Article 23 is enacted in Hong Kong, it will also apply to you and your family directly. This sword, which will possibly fall at any time, also hangs over your head. We earnestly request that you take responsibility for yourselves and the benefit of the Hong Kong people, as well as the future of Hong Kong. We hope you will make your best efforts to maintain freedom and the human rights of the Hong Kong people.

Sincerely yours

Italian Falun Gong practitioners

December 20th 2002