South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
SECTION: News; Pg. 8
BY Klaudia Lee
The US State Department has voiced concern over what it perceives as
pressure on Hong Kong from the mainland to restrict Falun Gong criticism
of
Beijing’s policies on the banned spiritual group.
The report, issued on Monday, said a series of developments in 2001
sparked
worries about pressures on the special administrative region (SAR) to
suppress the group’s freedom of expression, despite its legal existence
in
Hong Kong. Of particular concern were statements by Chief Executive Tung
Chee-hwa in May and June, 2001, that the group was “no doubt an [Chinese government’s slanderous words omitted]”
and that the government would not let the Falun Gong “abuse Hong Kong’s
freedoms and tolerance to affect public peace and order”.
The report said other incidents illustrating the situation included the
barring of about 100 overseas-based Falun Gong practitioners from
entering
Hong Kong during President Jiang Zemin’s visit in May, 2001, and more
than
90 foreign practitioners being denied entry upon arrival at the Hong
Kong
International Airport last June.
Despite regular coverage of sensitive subjects in the local media, the
report quoted the Hong Kong Journalists Association as saying media
self-censorship was on the rise, including coverage of topics of
particular
sensitivity to China, leadership dynamics and Taiwanese and Tibetan
independence.
The report noted that the South China Morning Post dismissed its Beijing
bureau chief, Jasper Becker, who said that his dismissal was due to the
paper’s intention to avoid carrying reports on controversial mainland
stories. But the report noted the Post said the reason for his dismissal
was
because he did not follow instructions from the paper’s China editor.
The
paper continued to cover a number of sensitive political issues
involving
the mainland and SAR governments, the report added.
It also said the government’s move to implement Article 23 of the Basic
Law
had triggered intense public debate. It noted that a draft of the
legislation was not provided for the public. Although the report
recognised
the SAR government’s general respect for the rights of its residents and
said “the law and judiciary generally provided effective means of
dealing
with individual instances of abuse”, it pointed out Hong Kong’s failure
to
establish a broad human rights institution.
The report also expressed concern about the government’s failure to
enact
legislation against racial discrimination. And it said violence and
discrimination against women remained a problem.
April 2, 2003
Posting date: 3/Apr/2003
Original article date: 2/Apr/2003
Category: Media Reports
