South China Morning Post: Broad-based academic opposition endorses signature campaign against grey areas of provisions in Article 23 New security law

By Linda Yeung
16/11/2002

Proposed national security laws are a threat to independent teaching and research, according to more than 100 academics who this week endorsed a signature campaign calling for a thorough government consultation through a white bill.

The academics, from various disciplines and institutions, say there are extensive grey areas in the proposals released in late September for public consultation. Article 23 of the Basic Law requires the government to legislate on security matters. But as proposed, the spread or mere possession of materials inciting others to commit treason, sedition, secession or subversion could also be an offence.

A white bill would contain actual provisions on liability for the offences. "As an educator, I cannot control the consequence of what I teach. I teach students to help and organise underprivileged, vulnerable groups to seek redress from the government. Would I be held responsible if group members later engage in violence threatening state security?" said Fung Ho Lup, a social work associate professor at the Chinese University (CUHK) and initiator of the campaign.

Self-censorship in academia would increase should the proposals be adopted, said research officer at CUHK's Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Dr Timothy Wong Ka-ying. "Self-censorship has already happened among China researchers following the arrest of academics like Li Shaomin in China last year. In future, the scope of sensitive areas that researchers try to avoid will only get wider and not just be limited to the mainland."

Hong Kong's academic exchanges with Taiwan could be minimised, under secession provisions, he warned. A specialist on Taiwan studies, he said he would switch his focus of research should specific rules on what constitute the offences be lacking. "I might be arrested after giving views on independence issue at a seminar organised by official bodies in Taiwan." The laws also have extra-territorial applications.

The Secretary for Security, Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, was booed by students at university forums in the past weeks. She insisted a blue bill to be submitted to the Legislative Council was needed.

Dr Wong said having the laws on the books would discourage research in sensitive areas: "Many academics would want to avoid the burden of having to prove themselves innocent in case of prosecution."

Barry Sautman, of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, who specialises in ethnic politics, fears scholars who work on controversial issues such as the Falun Gong or Tibetan issues might be shunned by universities. "It will be a liability for institutions to have such people attached to their staff," he said.

Academics studying a controversial issue or movement tend to be perceived by others to be politically involved in it. "People thought I was a supporter of the Dalai Lama because of my research on minority rights in Tibet," said Dr Sautman, now on a one-year sabbatical at Princeton University.

Meanwhile, the Professional Teachers' Union (PTU) has called on its 70,000 members to join a protest march on December 15, organised by more than 30 groups opposed to the legislation. This week it unfurled a 140-feet long banner outside its Causeway Bay centre publicising its opposition.

A statement carried in the union's newsletter said the proposed laws would seriously constrain freedom of information, impose interference in educational and research work, and undermine teachers' autonomy.

PTU secretary Law Ping said it would also dampen civic education and impede the teaching of democratic and human rights values: "It needs to be clearly spelled out what constitutes an offence under the laws."

Principal of the Queen Elizabeth School Old Students Association Secondary School, Mak Chen Wen-ming, calls the current consultation exercise "anti-intellectual" and "distasteful". "There has not been any rational discussion and the government has not shown sincerity in seeking public views," she said.