Wall Street Journal: Hong Kong Has No Plans to Clamp Down On Falun Dafa, the Justice Secretary Says

HONG KONG -- Amid calls from pro-Beijing forces to clamp down on Falun Dafa, Justice Secretary Elsie Leung said Sunday she has no plan to enact a law against the meditation [group], which is banned in mainland China. Ms. Leung said she "hasn't received any instruction" from the government to establish any law to restrict the [group], which has been criticized by pro-Beijing forces as [Chinese government's slanderous words]. On Thursday, Hong Kong's leader Tung Chee Hwa became the first government official in the territory to call the group a "[Chinese government's slanderous word]." The chief executive said the government will closely monitor the group's activities but added that the controversy over the group won't prompt Hong Kong to speed up the legislation of an antisubversion law. Following Mr. Tung's line, Ms. Leung reiterated Sunday that the public shouldn't be too concerned about enactment of the antisubversion law, which the government must pass at some point now that the former British colony has returned to China. Ms. Leung said the government will take public opinion into account before deciding to pass the legislation. Falun Dafa has come under attack from the mainland Chinese government and pro-Beijing groups in the territory since the Hong Kong government allowed it to hold an international conference last month at a public concert hall, where [group] followers openly attacked Beijing's "brutal crackdown." Although Falun Dafa is banned in China, the group remains legal in Hong Kong, where citizens enjoy considerably more freedom than their counterparts on the mainland. Falun Dafa has attracted millions of followers, most of them in China, [...]