AP: HK Unveils Text Of Planned Anti-Subversion Law

February 13, 2003

(Clearwisdom.net) HONG KONG (AP)--Hong Kong's security chief released the text of an anti-subversion bill Thursday, and critics immediately charged that new provisions would weaken the territory's rule of law.

Secretary for Security Regina Ip said the bill doesn't threaten local freedoms of the press, speech and assembly - as rights activists, journalists and pro-democracy figures have claimed for months.

Most details of the bill had been made public already, in the form of a published outline that said Hong Kong wants to outlaw treason, subversion, secession and sedition - basically any violent attempt to overthrow the government or break up parts of China.

But opposition legislators, who fear the law gives authorities too much power to stifle dissent, said they found a new provision that would make it difficult for any outlawed group to overturn its ban through the courts.

Critics have worried that Hong Kong will use the law to ban Falun Gong [...] Falun Gong is legal in Hong Kong and carries out numerous protests against Beijing's efforts to eradicate it in the mainland.

Once Hong Kong has passed its anti-subversion law, a banned group might have to appeal its ban without being informed of the "full particulars" of why it was imposed.

"This is absurd," said Albert Ho, a lawmaker from the opposition Democratic Party.

Ho also attacked a provision that would let Hong Kong's security chief ban any local group if he or she "reasonably believes" that it acts against national security and is "subordinate" to a mainland organization outlawed in China on national security grounds.

Independent lawmaker Margaret Ng said that will damage Hong Kong's judicial system by "linking" it with "the mainland's political structure."

The bill seems certain to be passed by the legislature - dominated by pro-business and pro-Beijing parties - within the next few months. Ip insisted that the government has struck "a balance between protecting national security and safeguarding fundamental rights and freedoms."

She also shrugged off criticism from opposition politicians and human rights activists who had demanded to see the wording of the planned law months ago, while the government was eliciting public comment on it.

An earlier text would have allowed critics to propose changes before the bill goes to the Legislative Council, but the government refused.

The anti-subversion measure has stirred one of the biggest political battles since Hong Kong was returned from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

Since its return, the territory has been constitutionally required to outlaw subversion, sedition, treason and other crimes against the state.

The government began work last year on legislation that would punish many offenses with life in prison, stirring fears that local freedoms could be crushed.

Opponents worry that Hong Kong could be heading toward a Beijing-style crackdown on dissent. Hong Kong officials dispute such contentions and say they have no intention of using the law to go after Falun Gong.