09/30/2002
Financial Times
P22

When the British government handed Hong Kong back to China a little over five years ago it promised to do everything possible to help preserve the city's civil liberties. Now is the time for London to step in to fulfil this promise.

Last week, the Hong Kong administration proposed an anti-subversion law, which its criticsclaim could severely curtail freedom of expression and action in the former colony.

The proposed legislation threatens life imprisonment for anyone found guilty of treason, secession, subversion or sedition. Anyone convicted of inciting violence or public disorder could be imprisoned for up to seven years.

Clearly, every government has a right, indeed a duty, to protect its national security. But the worrying feature of this proposed legislation is that it gives Hong Kong's government - and by extension Communist Party bosses in Beijing - a lot of leeway in determining what constitutes national security.

The suspicion is that this will be targeted against anyone that Beijing deems politically unacceptable in Hong Kong, most notably the Falun Gong spiritual movement that has until now enjoyed some measure of protection.

In 1990, just 10 months after the brutal suppression of demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, the National People's Congress in Beijing promulgated the Basic Law for Hong Kong, defining how the city was to be governed. Under article 23, the Hong Kong government was obliged to enact strict laws prohibiting treason against the central government and theft of state secrets and preventing political bodies from establishing links with foreign organisations. Beijing recently indicated that it wanted Hong Kong to pass this legislation. Tung Chee-hwa, the city's chief executive, has now jumped.

Since becoming chief executive, Mr Tung has earned a lot of trust in Beijing. It is a pity that he has not been able to reap the political dividends over this particular issue. Forcing Hong Kong to implement the laws now would come as a further blow to confidence at a time when the city is already suffering from serious economic pressures.

To be fair, the Chinese government has so far refrained from any heavy intervention in Hong Kong. The city's government is also promising a three-month period of public consultation about the new legislation. But if Mr Tung's record is any guide, it seems unlikely that his government's proposals will diverge in any significant way from Beijing's wishes. In practice, the legislation will give Beijing absolute control over the mass media and all dissident groups.

A large part of Hong Kong's success has been attributable to the independent enforcement of the rule of law. It would be a terrible shame - and a threat to the city's future prosperity - if this were to be replaced by the rule of politics. Hong Kong would then slide rapidly towards one country, one system, eroding its unique status as China's laboratory for more open and democratic government.