Letter from a European Practitioner to the Hong Kong Authorities

Your Excellency,

I am deeply concerned about the implementation of Article 23 in Hong Kong.

On 26 February 2003, the HK SAR Government introduced a National Security Bill (a so-called blue bill) to the Legislative Council after a consultation period that has been highly criticised, thereby initiating the process of enacting Article 23. Many have condemned the authorities for distorting the views of the public when compiling the submissions received during the consultation period. They have also urged the authorities to shelf the legislation process of the National Security Bill, awaiting further analysis of the submissions by an independent body.

In a joint letter to the editor of South China Morning Post, the Civil Human Rights Front, a coalition of more than 40 NGOs, wrote: “We demand that the government establish an independent public opinion research organisation to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the submissions in order to properly analyse and reflect public opinion regarding the implementation of Article 23.”

If this blue bill is implemented without further amendments, it will threaten the freedom of 7 million people and slowly degrade one of the most peaceful and democratic regions in Asia.

Legal experts warn that according to the blue bill, the offence of sedition is designed to incriminate critics of Mainland China’s government, the police are given unacceptably broad powers, local organisations like Falun Gong, the Catholic Church, many trade unions and other NGOs are running high risk of being banned, and the new proposal for secret trials, as part of the mechanism for appeal against prohibition of local organisation is alarming. In China, human rights violations committed during the period of the persecution of Falun Gong are so serious that, Jiang Zemin, the leader of this tragedy, has been sued in the US for committing genocide. Unfortunately he seems set to extend the persecution into Hong Kong and endanger the liberties of the Hong Kong people by implementing Article 23.

The Basic Law contains Article 23 but it also contains the requirement that the Hong Kong government comply with the human rights guarantees set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by the UN.

We hereby called on the HK SAR Government to take immediate steps to withdraw the legislation of the National Security Bill until the rights of speech, belief and association of Hong Kong people can be guaranteed.