(Clearwisdom.net) A general election is soon to take place in Hong Kong. In so-called “preparations”, the authorities have not only intensified their suppression of media interviews and the political aspirations of the Hong Kong people but are also trying to remove all Falun Gong truth-clarification display boards and banners. The authorities claim that they disrupt traffic and degrade the appearance of Hong Kong and will interfere with the District Council elections.
Local Health Department Tries to Shut Down Falun Gong Activities
On September 2, several truth-clarification sites run by Falun Gong practitioners near the Chinese Communist Party Liaison Office in Hong Kong, SOGO, the Immigration Department in Wan Chai and Stubbs Road received a “Notice of Law Enforcement against Display of Non-commercial Publicity Materials in Public Areas without Permission” issued by Hong Kong Food and Environment Hygiene Department.
The notice says that while the department amends the management regulations of display spots along central dividing railings on the streets, they will impose arbitrary law enforcement against illegal display of publicity materials on government premises. The notice also referred to Article 104A in the “Public Hygiene and Municipal Administration Regulations”, requesting the removal of Falun Gong banners and display boards, and if this is not done, a maximum fine of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars will be imposed, as well as an additional fine of 300 dollars per day.
This has aroused much concern from various social sectors. According to legal professionals, the regulations referred to by Hong Kong Food and Environment Hygiene Department are only applicable to street peddlers, not to groups who exercise their right to protest. Human Rights Watch Director-General Lo Yuk Kai has carefully studied these regulations and pointed out that if there are regulations that restrict people’s right to freedom of expression, then these laws are clashing with the Basic Law, which protects freedom of expression and freedom of protest.
Falun Gong Truth-clarification Activities Comply with Hong Kong Basic Law
In the Sino-British Joint Statement announced on December 19, 1984, it is clearly stated that after the handover of Hong Kong, the Chinese government will adopt the model of “one country two systems” and allow “Hong Kong people to run Hong Kong”, and Hong Kong would be established as a Special Administrative Region that enjoys a high degree of autonomy. The joint statement put in writing a guarantee ensuring Hong Kong’s autonomous status for 50 years. The Basic Law of Hong Kong is its “fundamental law” and any previous law or laws formulated or amended by the legislative body of the Special Administrative Region that clash with the Basic Law are deemed to be invalid.
Articles 27 to 38 in the Basic law stipulate: Hong Kong residents shall have freedom of speech, of the press and of publication; freedom of association, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration; and the right and freedom to form and join trade unions, and to strike.
The display of truth-clarification banners and signs is an exercise of the rights to freedom of speech, freedom of publication, and freedom of belief. The fact that Falun Gong practitioners clarify the facts about the persecution and tell people in Hong Kong about the evilness of the Chinese Communist Party is a vivid example of “one country, two systems.” Falun Gong demonstrations show the world that Hong Kong is implementing autonomy and does not persecute Falun Gong like the CCP regime does. They also show the world that people in Hong Kong have the legal right to practice Falun Gong, and that the persecution of Falun Gong is totally groundless.
Health department regulations are no match to the Basic Law. The CCP does not dare to openly violate the Basic Law, so it tries to play games, schemes and intrigues through the Hong Kong Food and Environment Hygiene Department.
Safeguarding the Truth-Clarification Display Boards Also Safeguards the Freedom of Hong Kong's People
Many people in Hong Kong are known to not like communism, regarding instead as a form of vandalism. After the CCP usurped state power in China some 60 years ago, a series of political movements such as the “Cultural Revolution”, the “67 Riot” and the “Tiananmen Square Massacre” reinforced the disgusting and even terrifying image the Hong Kong people have of the CCP. When someone is looked down upon or despised in Hong Kong, he is often labeled as “CCP” or “You are like CCP!”
The CCP tried to control Hong Kong by enacting Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23, under which the police would have been given enormous power and would be allowed to arbitrarily search the residences of “suspected terrorists” without court issued warrants. This incident raised strong public repercussions, which led to a large-scale protest parade, in which hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents participated on July 1, 2003. After this dramatic public display of disapproval, Hong Kong authorities set Article 23 aside and the then Secretary for Security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee resigned. It was act of justice on the part of the Hong Kong people to oppose the tyranny of the CCP.
The CCP regards the persecution of Falun Gong as a most important issue. It is not that the CCP does not want to extend the persecution into Hong Kong; the reason they have not been able to do so is because at the moment, the pro-CCP forces in Hong Kong have not been able to form a corrupt and absolute dictatorship. However, the CCP is trying to use its dictatorship system established in mainland China to assimilate Hong Kong. Disallowing Falun Gong practitioners to display their banners and truth-clarification boards is just one such example. When the truth-clarification efforts of Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong are under threat, it means that the evil back-stage CCP manipulators are directly threatening the life and freedom of every resident in Hong Kong. Thus, safeguarding the environment in which Falun Gong practitioners can peacefully clarify the truth likewise safeguards the environment in which the people in Hong Kong can live a free life.