9 August 2001 / 03:33 AM

THE United States has signalled it will continue to keep a close watch on the Hong Kong government's stance towards the Falun Gong.

Beijing has generally kept its commitment to respect the SAR's autonomy, "with some notable exceptions that bear continued close attention'', according to a report to the US Congress. One of these is the Falun Gong.

The SAR government's "strong rhetoric and possible action'' against the qigong [group] warrants attention, says the report, which went before Congress on Tuesday. [...]

Nevertheless, it says, Hong Kong remains one of the freest cities in Asia.

The special report by the State Department follows a series of reports spanning the handover that were required by the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act and

ended last year. It was prepared in response to concerns in Congress about the SAR's autonomy.

In reply, the SAR government said Hong Kong was proud of "the successful implementation of one country, two systems'' and would continue to develop the political

system in accordance with the Basic Law.

Hong Kong remained a free society, it said, and the government was "firmly committed'' to protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, including those of speech, press, religion and assembly. The US report said that while Hong Kong residents enjoyed rights of expression and association, the same could not be shared by outsiders - such as overseas Falun Gong members.

Pressure from Beijing had led to the banning of at least 102 practitioners during the visit of President Jiang Zemin for the Fortune Global Forum in May, it said. This was illustrated by Mr Jiang's warning to the Hong Kong and Macau governments in December that they should never allow anyone use the two SARs to stage activities against the Central Government.

Adding weight was the SAR government's admission it was watching the [group] closely and studying the possibility of anti-cult legislation that, according to the report, "could endanger freedom of belief, conscience and expression in Hong Kong''.

It noted however that the government had said later it was not planning legislation.

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http://www.hk-imail.com/inews/public/article_v.cfm?articleid=27169&intcatid=1

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Category: Falun Dafa in the Media