BYLINE: MIN LEE; Associated Press Writer
About 800 followers of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned in
mainland
China, marched through downtown Hong Kong on Sunday to protest a planned
anti-subversion law they say will jeopardize them.
Wearing their trademark yellow T-shirts, they walked through the streets
of
Wan Chai district to the strains of traditional Chinese music. They were
escorted by about 40 police officers.
Falun Gong members said the proposed legislation would bring
mainland-style
oppression to this former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule
in
1997 but still has its own legal system and Western-style freedoms.
“Don’t let this evil law be enacted,” said Zhao Ming, a mainland China
citizen studying in Ireland. Zhao said he’d previously been detained for
22
months and tortured by Chinese authorities.
“Hong Kong government, don’t sell your soul to a killer,” said Erich
Bachmann, a Swiss Falun Gong follower.
Some of the protesters came from abroad for an international Falun Gong
conference held here on Saturday. The movement teaches that morality and
health can be achieved through meditation and traditional Chinese
exercise.
The group, banned … in the mainland, claims many of
their
followers have been persecuted and killed by Chinese authorities.
It remains legal in Hong Kong, but followers fear they may come under
threat
once new national security legislation is in place.
Hong Kong has been constitutionally required to legislate against crimes
against the state – including subversion, sedition, treason and
secession –
since it returned to China.
The government began work on the legislation recently, sparking fears
that
the city’s civil liberties may be crushed.
Officials have toned down the proposed law, but critics don’t think they
have gone far enough. Part of the proposed law would let Hong Kong’s
government ban organizations linked to groups restricted in China.
The original draft targeted groups “affiliated” with prohibited mainland
entities. “Affiliated” was later changed to “subordinate.”
Falun Gong Hong Kong spokesman Kan Hung-cheung said Sunday the change
was
cosmetic and the gist of the provision is still the same.
The law aims to create a “remote control” mechanism allowing Beijing
officials to ban groups in Hong Kong, Kan said.
In response, the government said in a statement that the planned
anti-subversion law is not targeted at any organizations or individuals
and
that the authorities “will not intervene in the lawful activities of any
organizations in Hong Kong.”
Posting date: 25/Feb/2003
Original article date: 24/Feb/2003
Category: Media Reports
