HK retreats on anti-subversion law

BBC, July 5, 2003
http://news.bbc.co.uk

Hong Kong’s leader, Tung Chee-hwa, has said a controversial anti-subversion bill will be amended, following a huge protest rally earlier this week.

Pressure has been mounting for Mr Tung to address citizens’ concerns over the bill – known as Article 23 – since 500,000 people marched through the territory’s streets on Tuesday.

Religious groups, human rights organisations and journalists say the bill would give the government power to suppress their activities.

On Saturday Mr Tung said he would

• scrap a provision that allowed some groups to be banned

• add protections for journalists who publish classified information
• delete a provision that would let police conduct searches without warrants.

He also wants to modify provisions that would allow organisations linked to outlawed groups in the mainland to be banned in Hong Kong.

This could involve the Falun Gong spiritual group, which is legal in Hong Kong but has been banned in China as an “evil cult”.

Mr Tung acknowledged that the massive outpouring of public sentiment had forced an embarrassing retreat from parts of the national security law and said “my colleagues and myself have to do better”.

“After repeated and detailed discussions, we have decided to make amendments to further allay people’s fears,” Mr Tung told a news conference.

Weakness

Article 23 is part of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution – the Basic Law – which was negotiated on its handover from Britain to China in 1997.

Mr Tung said he wants Hong Kong’s legislature to pass the law on schedule next week.

The BBC’s Francis Markus, in Shanghai, says Mr Tung has been in the throes of political crisis over the last few days and now seems to have decided that something had to give.

The law has not been the only focus of widespread public discontent – there has been widespread criticism of the government’s handling of various issues.

Our correspondent says the debate over the bill was likely to be stormy but even if the amendments allowed the bill to pass, critics were likely to sense Mr Tung’s increasing weakness and continue pressing their calls for him to step down.

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