Urgent Business: Hong Kong, Freedom of Expression and 1997
common knowledge at the time. It is believed that Qi's prosecution was a warning to other journalists and intellectuals sympathetic to the democracy movement who might approach overseas Chinese or foreigners with information.
Secession also found its way into the Basic Law following the 1989 massacre and is informed by China's fears of Hong Kong's autonomy and freedoms - in this case the possibility that the territory might secede from the mainland. Secession again is a highly charged legal term under Chinese law and is derived in part from the duty citizens have under the Chinese constitution to uphold the unity of the country. Although a criminal offence under China's laws, it has no status under Hong Kong's present legal system.
The question now concerning these matters is whether the British authorities are prepared or committed to regain the lost ground in the Joint Declaration. With regard to the "theft of state secrets", the Hong Kong government has said it will look into introducing localized official secrets legislation. Since the present OSA 1989, as a British law extended to Hong Kong, will lapse on 30 June 1997, there is clearly a need to enact local legislation in the hope that it can survive the handover in 1997 and thereby preclude the need to enact fresh legislation. No timetable has been set for this legislation which needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
On treason and sedition, the question is also whether the British will introduce further amending legislation to the Crimes Ordinance with a view to localizing the law. As with official secrets legislation, its consistency or not with the Basic Law is the vital issue.
2.7
PROHIBITIONS ON FOREIGN POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS
Article 23 requires the SAR to enact laws prohibiting "foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region", and local "political organizations or bodies... from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies".
This puts in jeopardy the continued existence in Hong Kong of a range of organizations or associations with international ties or origins. Those that immediately come to mind are organizations such as Amnesty International (a London-based international human rights organization which has both local and regional branches in Hong Kong), Asia Watch (an American human rights organization whose Hong Kong regional office has published extensively on China), Justice (the Hong Kong Section of the International Commission of Jurists), or even possibly groups such as the local branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). All of these organizations could be said to be "political" in the broadest sense of the
term.
19
There is also a host of lesser-known, non-governmental organizations which typically publish on regional or local issues, or are involved in various kinds of advocacy or interest group work. Among them are groups such as Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC, a regional labour documentation group), Asia Regional Exchange for New Alternatives (ARENA, a publisher on alternative development), the Asian Students' Association (ASA, an
15
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.