TNAG-2004-FCO40-2852-Hong-Kong-political-parties-1990 — Page 21

ight of peaceful assembly contained in Article 18 of the Bill of Rights and Article 21 of the ICCPR."

stoo

The summonses coincide with a refusal by the Government to

allow a church group to hold a meeting in Queen Elizabeth Stadium

commemorating the June 4 massacre.

$88ae if the Henry Heng

zivaly seeking to discourage

Such action is

and prevent consistent with the Hong Kong Government's promise to the PRC--

contained in an October 1989 letter from the Political Advisor

to the Hong Kong branch of the New China News Agency (the defacto

PRC embassy in Hong Kong) --that the Government 'has no intention

of allowing Hong Kong to be used as a base for subversive

activities against the PRC.**

In that letter, the Government pointed to arrests of certain

protesters outside of the NCNA and its refusal to allow for "a

permanent site for a replica statute of democracy" as evidence

of its "prudent regard" for the "interests and concerns of the

Chinese Government." Mr. Lee stated, "The charges laid against

the four democracy leaders repeat this extremely disturbing

decision of the Hong Kong Government to place the concerns of the

Chinese Government supreme over human

human rights and freedom of

expression in Hong Kong.

*

Determined to preserve freedom of expression in Hong Kong,

at least some of the four leaders of the United Democrats, if

convicted, will refuse to pay fines a under a statute that

violates the ICCPR and the Bill of Rights.

Rather, they call on

the Government to rescind all such statutes immediately and to

be far more vigilant in its protection of human rights between