Letter to the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR from the Falun Dafa Association of Queensland, Australia
23 December 2002
Office of the Chief
Executive Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
5/F, Central
Government Offices, Main Wing, Lower Albert Road,
Hong Kong
Dear Mr Tung,
For 145 years, Hong Kong thrived under British rule. One of
the main reasons for the success of Hong Kong was the many freedoms allowed the
Hong Kong people by British Law -- the people of Hong Kong were allowed the
freedom to believe and practice what they wanted, the freedom to speak out
against what they felt was wrong, the freedom to associate with whom they chose,
freedom of the press and the list goes on. In 1997, when the British handed Hong
Kong back to Mainland China, there was an agreement to have "one country, two
policies" in place for 50 years. This is now very much under threat by Article
23.
In 1984, a Joint Declaration was signed by the British
Government and the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC). This
established the Hong Kong area as a region of China, the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region (HKSAR), with its own constitution and administration.
The Joint Declaration is an international treaty registered with the United
Nations.
The Joint Declaration specifies that the existing laws in
Hong Kong will be modified only if they contravene the new constitution of the
HKSAR. This was developed by the National People's Congress, and is known as
the Basic Law.
The Joint Declaration promised "that the socialist system
and socialist policies shall not be practised in the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, and that Hong Kong's previous capitalist system and
lifestyle shall remain unchanged for 50 years." (Joint Declaration Annex 1:
1).
The most important parts of Hong Kong's new constitution
regarding freedom of speech are Articles 23 and 39 of the Basic Law, and
Section 3 (5) of the Joint Declaration. Article 39 states:
The provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, and international labour conventions as applied to Hong Kong shall
remain in force and shall be implemented through the laws of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (Basic Law of HKSAR: Article 39).
The relevant section of Section 3 (5) of the Joint
Declaration is derived from Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR):
The current social and economic systems in Hong Kong will
remain unchanged, and so will the lifestyle. Rights and freedoms, including
those of the person, of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association of
travel, of movement, of correspondence, of strike, of choice of occupation, of
academic research and of religious belief, will be ensured by law in the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region (Joint Declaration: Section 3 (5)).
All of this is now under siege by Article 23, especially
since your government seems unwilling to publish a white paper to clarify the
exact nature of the proposed new laws. Perhaps most at risk are groups like
Falun Gong. We believe Falun Gong practitioners are one of the main targets of
this law. All the Mainland Chinese regime has to do is declare Falun Gong a
threat to the safety or stability of the government to have it outlawed in Hong
Kong. The Mainland regime has already created many slanderous labels to turn the
people against Falun Gong and this next step is not at all farfetched. Its
unwarranted brutal and deadly persecution of innocent Falun Gong practitioners
shows the lengths the Mainland regime is willing to go in its attempt to
eradicate Falun Gong.
The Falun Dafa Association of Queensland Inc, Australia,
representing the hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners in Queensland, opposes the
enactment of Article 23 legislation and calls for a white paper and further
public consultation on this issue. Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents
marched in opposition to this legislation and dozens of Hong Kong and
international organisations, from the Bishop of Hong Kong to media to bankers to
businessmen to human rights organisations, etc, have voiced their opposition to
this legislation. Freedom of belief and practice are cornerstones of all free
societies and are the very glue that keeps them from totally unravelling. World
opinion and the voice of Hong Kong's people cannot be brushed aside. Hong Kong
must operate under recognised international standards and protect the rights of
its people.
Yours sincerely
Falun Dafa Association of Queensland
On behalf of all Queensland, Australia Falun Gong
practitioners
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