The Daily Telegraph: Fears over security law for Hong Kong

By Richard Spencer

02/14/2003

A LAW designed to prevent threats to the stability of mainland China was unveiled by the Hong Kong government yesterday.

The National Security Bill gives new definitions of treason, subversion, secession and sedition.

"A bridge has been crossed," said Yeung Sum, leader of Hong Kong's main opposition Democratic Party.

"Their idea of national security is so different from ours and their political system is so different from ours, and some of that is being written into our system.

"The chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, says, 'Why don't you trust us, we know how important human rights are?' But that's just rhetoric."

The law allows the Hong Kong authorities to ban subversive organisations and branches of organisations already proscribed by Beijing as a threat to national security if they deem it "necessary".

[...]

Mr Allcock and Regina Ip, the security secretary, insisted that all forms of peaceful protest would still be allowed.

But opponents, including most of the freely elected minority of Legislative Council members, say it will have a "chilling effect" on [groups] operating out of Hong Kong.

They say it could be used against groups of which Beijing disapproves such as Falun Gong, [...] or even the Roman Catholic Church.

The bill is being enacted under Article 23 of the Basic Law, an element of the constitution which Beijing insisted on when Hong Kong's 1997 handover was negotiated.

Under the "One country, two systems" principle underlying the handover, Hong Kong is responsible for its own security legislation, though the National People's Congress in Beijing has a right of veto.

Particular annoyance was caused by the Hong Kong government's admission that it consulted Beijing before publishing its draft proposals last September.

Law Yuk-kai of the Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor said: "The bill is a blank cheque for the government to ban any group in Hong Kong."

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