UK: MP Strongly Warns Hong Kong's Tung Not to Use Article 23 Against Falun Gong

UK MP Alan Simpson wrote a strong letter to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, after the Hong Kong authority published its widely-opposed proposal to enact Article 23 legislation, warning him not to use the legislation against Falun Gong.

The letter says: "I have received a number of representations expressing concern about the proposed Article that would appear to take your government one step closer to proscribing Falun Gong as an illegal organisation. You will be well aware of the hostility to any such a move that is shared across the international community."

"The current wording for the proposed law makes it clear that the legal status that Falun Gong has within Hong Kong would disappear because it falls within the category of an organisation that had been proscribed by the central authorities in China."

"There would be outrage in Britain, and across the world, if you were to resort to such a dishonest way of turning an organisation that has never been a threat to national security in Hong Kong, into a so called terrorist organisation."

"This would be a deeply regressive move on the part of a society, which had been relatively open and stable. I would urge you in the strongest possible terms to review the wording of such legislation, in order to ensure that utterly peaceful organisations such Falun Gong are not inadvertently caught up in any definition of a threat to national security."