HONG KONG -- When Hong Kong's head of the civil service, Donald Tsang, accepted a luncheon invitation and agreed to run a gantlet of questioners at the Foreign Correspondents Club here last week, he must have anticipated that the issue of Falun Gong would be raised again and again, as indeed it was. Mr. Tsang was ready with a clear and unambiguous statement of Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa's decision not to introduce an anti-xx law aimed at suppressing the group. "We are not legislating," Mr. Tsang said.

This came as welcome news, since a repressive law had been under active consideration and would have undermined the freedoms of religion, speech and association granted to Hong Kong citizens under the "one country, two systems" formula. Mr. Tung has apparently come to the right decision, at least temporarily, despite pressure from pro-China politicians in the territory, and possibly from Beijing, to crack down on the spiritual group banned on the mainland.

The real credit for this reversal has to go to those who turned up the political heat on the chief executive not to sell out Hong Kong. Locally, a loose grouping of politicians and activists known as the prodemocracy camp may have helped steer the chief executive, and Hong Kong's friends abroad also pointed out the damage an anti-xx law would have done. Perhaps even Mr. Tsang and new government appointee Financial Secretary Antony Leung whispered in Mr. Tung's ear about the law's negative impact on Hong Kong's autonomy.

This victory may only be a temporary one, however. Two weeks ago, Mr. Tung wholeheartedly took up the mainland Chinese line against the Falun Gong for the first time. In answering questions from legislators, the chief executive said, '[Tung's slanderous terms omitted]

This has been read by some local observers as an attempt to appease Beijing with words rather than action. But that is wishful thinking. Mr. Tung has spent months laying the groundwork for an anti-xx law. Now it has been put aside temporarily, but it could easily be resurrected at a more politically opportune time.

If the government wants to refute this notion there is a simple way to do it. Authorities could explain how the recent decision not to legislate was reached. This would do much to reassure critics alarmed by the apparent extension of the anti-Falun Gong campaign from mainland China to Hong Kong.

But don't rely on transparency from the Tung government. Instead of taking credit for considering and rejecting anti-xx measures, the government's new line is that no such thing was ever seriously contemplated. When asked last Thursday about the law, Mr. Tsang replied, "You said there was a rumor about legislating, and that's exactly what it was." Secretary for Security Regina Ip has likewise "ruled out any suggestion of the Hong Kong government preparing to legislate against '[term omitted]' at the present stage." Their reaction seems to be annoyance that this issue has been blown out of proportion by the press and others.

This has a lot of local people scratching their heads.There were plenty of indications that Hong Kong was preparing to legislate against [term omitted]s. Mr. Tsang said last month that the government was studying the laws of other countries to see how they handled xx. One country singled out for special attention was France, which recently enacted a law which bans groups alleged to be using mind-control techniques.

Two members of Mr. Tung's cabinet, Leung Chun-ying and Raymond Ch'ien, revealed that a similar law was under consideration for Hong Kong. [...]

This is precisely how the Hong Kong government prepares the ground for controversial legislation. When it's contemplating a move that might attract a lot of criticism, instead of having a formal public consultation, it floats a few trial balloons and then chooses its moment. The current crop of denials have all been couched in terms that don't preclude a future about-face, for which any number of excuses can be found. The government has now laid the groundwork for anti-xx legislation which it may return to at a more convenient time, for instance after Mr. Tung's election to a second term next March.

Mr. Tsang did not inspire confidence last week when called on to explain Mr. Tung's strident statements on the Falun Gong. He characterized them as personal opinions, of no relevance to government policy. "In a free and open society like Hong Kong, it is natural for people to have different views about what a [term omitted] is, and what an [term omitted] is, and how to define an [term omitted], and whether certain organizations fit that definition. You have your own definition, Mr. Tung has his own definition. . . ."

The suggestion that the head of government appearing before a legislature to give remarks which have undergone "careful consideration" is not articulating the government line is hard to understand. Mr. Tung has backed off anti-xx legislation for now, but he only deserves cautious praise. Those who care about Hong Kong's freedoms have to remain vigilant, or this repellent legislation will be back.