(Clearwisdom.net) Radio Free Asia reported that the panels on Security and Administration of Justice and Legal Service of Hong Kong Legislative Council held the fourth public hearing regarding the implementation of Article 23 on November 28. The report said that student association representatives from many universities and colleges attended this hearing. Some student representatives pointed out that several years ago, the Hong Kong government pledged to not abuse the "Public Security" article. Yet recently, it charged three people with illegally assembling by using this article. The students worried that the Hong Kong government would abuse the law after the implementation of Article 23. Some student associations were also concerned that the Hong Kong government was attempting to expand the authority of the police while narrowing personal freedoms and human rights in Hong Kong, and that Article 23 would make young people feel less safe.
The attendees at a conference for foreign reporters in Hong Kong said that the definition of "state secret" in Article 23 was vague and would hinder the free circulation of information. They announced that should Hong Kong restrict the freedom of the press, all foreign reporters would leave Hong Kong.
Moreover, 44 American politicians, scholars, and human rights' activists cosigned a letter addressed to President Bush. In the letter, they asked the United States government to utilize its influence to prevent the implementation of Article 23 in Hong Kong. The letter was initiated by a U.S. intelligence advisory organization "Project for the New American Century" and the U.S. Committee for Hong Kong. The people who signed the letter included former United States Attorney General Thornburgh, Founding Chair of the Human Rights Watch Robert L. Bernstein, and several former and present members of U.S. Congress.
