South China Morning Post: Bill poses a global press threat, says Martin Lee

The former chairman of Hong Kong's Democratic Party, Martin Lee Chu-ming, warned American policymakers yesterday that the national security bill could damage not only Hong Kong, but the rest of the world, because of its impact on the freedom of the press in the city.

Mr Lee issued his warning in an article in The New York Times on the second day of a four-day visit to Washington, at the head of a high-level delegation to campaign for US help in softening some provisions in the law before the scheduled July 9 enactment date.

Noting China's delay in revealing the original Sars epidemic in Guangzhou, Mr Lee said: "Hong Kong's press played the key role in altering the world to Sars and to the cover-up by mainland officials. Imagine how much longer the world would have waited to learn the truth if Hong Kong had been just another censored Chinese city."

The delegation has secured meetings with a number of top US officials and members of Congress, and will be pressing its case among leading US news organisations, business groups, union leaders, human rights organisations and others during a packed schedule.

Mr Lee said he had sent a letter to US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice in advance of the trip. This was aimed at getting her to convince President George W. Bush to raise the Article 23 issue when he met President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Evian, France, ast Sunday.

It is not known whether Mr Bush did so.

http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/Weekly2003/06.03.2003/HongKong9.htm