AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
In a submission to the Legislative Committee of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region (HK SAR), Amnesty International today urged the
government to heed the widespread calls for a White Bill on its
proposals
for Article 23 legislation. The organization has grave concerns about
the
proposals in the government’s consultation document and the lack of a
draft
White Bill which means that the public still do not know how the
legislation
will actually be worded.
“Until the draft legislation is seen, the people of Hong Kong have no
way of
knowing what exactly the proposals will mean for the future,” Amnesty
International stressed.
The implementation of Article 23 of the Basic Law is possibly the most
important issue since the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty for
defining the future direction of fundamental freedoms and the concept of
“One Country, Two Systems”.
“The current government proposals are vague and ill-defined, contrary to
international law and standards which require that the definitions of
criminal acts should be clear and specific to clarify what types of
conduct
are criminalized,” Amnesty International stated.
“All proposed offences must be tightly defined and must specifically
exclude
the possibility of peaceful protests falling into the definition of
these
crimes.”
“As they stand, the proposals go far beyond what is needed to implement
Article 23 of the Basic Law and may increase restrictions on fundamental
human rights,” the international human rights organization said. “There
is a
danger that those exercising these rights could be imprisoned as
prisoners
of conscience.”
Amnesty International underlined that the fundamental human rights at
risk
include the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
protected
under Article 18 of the International Convenant on Civil, Cultural and
Political Rights (ICCPR); the right to freedom of expression (Article
19);
and the rights to peaceful assembly and to freedom of association
(Articles
21 and 22).
Amnesty International urged the HK SAR Government to ensure that any
legislation prohibiting “any act of treason, secession, sedition” or
“subversion against the Central People’s Government” should not
criminalize
or otherwise restrict the exercise of fundamental rights, such as the
freedom of association and peaceful assembly.
The organization also urged the government to reconsider proposals under
the
section on the “theft of state secrets” which call for an expansion of
the
term “protected information” and the addition of a new class of
protected
information relating to “relations between the Central Authorities of
the
People’s Republic of China and the HK SAR”.
“Such proposals are far too vague and potentially encompass information
which should be made public in the interests of transparency,” Amnesty
International stressed.
“The proposals could have negative effects on the HK SAR’s reputation as
an
international centre for business and banking as well as on the media
and
civil society in general.”
The proposed legislation on foreign organizations links proscribed
organizations on the mainland to organizations in Hong Kong and goes far
beyond the terms of Article 23. The proposals allow for People’s
Republic of
China Central Government concepts of national security to have
precedence in
the HK SAR. This has far reaching consequences and may mean that if an
organization is banned in China on national security grounds, then it
may be
banned in the Hong Kong as well.
Given the widespread restrictions on basic human rights on the mainland
and
the difficulties for some groups and organizations to obtain official
registration — which has often led to the arrest and detention of
people
involved in those groups — it is feared that many organizations would
be
proscribed in the HK SAR. Groups of mainland Chinese dissidents in Hong
Kong
may well be at particular risk and face unnecessary restrictions on
their
work.
“We are disappointed that the need to implement Article 23 of the Basic
Law
has not led to the removal of archaic laws and the development of
legislation in line with human rights and international laws and
standards,”
Amnesty International stated.
“Instead the authorities have created more offences, many of which have
the
potential to conflict with international human rights standards.”
On 24 September 2002 the HK SAR government released its proposals for a
controversial anti-subversion law, which China supports but democracy
activists fear could stifle freedom of expression. The document was
issued
at the start of a three-month public consultation period. The Basic Law
—
Hong Kong’s “mini-constitution” which has governed the territory since
its
1997 return to the Chinese sovereignty – required an anti-subversion
bill to
be passed under Article 23. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Tung Chee-hwa,
said
that the planned law was necessary to ensure national security. The
government, however, was aware of the disquiet it would cause in the
sensitive years following the territory’s hand-over and delayed its
proposal
until now.
Human rights organizations fear that the proposals, if passed into law,
would undermine the existing human rights and civil liberties enjoyed by
Hong Kong people and could be used against anyone China or Hong Kong
objects
to, including political dissidents and religious or spiritual groups
such as
Falun Gong — already outlawed on mainland China.
Amnesty International will be presenting its submission to the
Government at
the Legislative Committee hearing on 14 December 2002 (9:30 until
12:30).
For more information, to arrange an interview or to obtain a copy of
Amnesty
International’s Submission please call Amnesty International’s press
office
in London, UK on +44 20 7413 5566. For interviews in Hong Kong call:
+852 2385 7298.
Public Document
****************************************
For more information please call Amnesty International’s press office in
London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566
Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW.
web:
http://www.amnesty.org
http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/recent/ASA190042002!Open
Posting date: 10/Dec/2002
Original article date: 10/Dec/2002
Category: Media Report
