ARTICLE 19 and The Hong Kong Journalists Association
"wasn't very high at all" if it prevented the Chinese government from taking offence and possibly retaliating against Hong Kong.
4.11.4 Banning students
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In a move which was calculated to infringe the right to freedom of association, and that of freedom of expression, the immigration authorities acting for the executive denied entry to eight overseas Chinese students scheduled to attend the second Global Chinese Students Conference. The July 1991 conference was to discuss, among other things, democracy in the Chinese context. Ironically, the denial came just a month after the Bill of Rights passed into law, and caused considerable controversy, not the least being protests by local students at Kai Tak airport where the eight students, who all held valid entry visas, were being detained pending what were to be unsuccessful court proceedings on the grounds of habeas corpus.
Through a spokesman, the government responded to criticisms by saying that "[A]s the Governor has made clear on many occasions in the past, we do not want Hong Kong to be used as a battlefield for other people's political battles. Everything we do is consistent with this policy." In a written reply to the students, Secretary for Security Alistair Asprey argued that "possession of a visa does not guarantee that the visitor will be admitted to Hong Kong. Our long-standing policy is not to allow Hong Kong to be used by outsiders for their own political purposes". He added that "this in no way affects the rights of Hong Kong residents to freedom of speech within the law."
By the Government's own admission, there can be little doubt that the action to deny entry was taken to avoid upsetting Beijing, possibly even under pressure from the Chinese authorities. One academic, Professor Ian Scott of the University of Hong Kong, challenged the government to assure Hong Kong people that it had not surrendered its immigration policy to China. He described the bans as "grossly inconsistent with the Bill of Rights and the principle of freedom of speech which it purportedly protects."
On another occasion, responding to criticisms that the immigration authorities should not have prohibited exiled Chinese students from entering Hong Kong, the Secretary for Security told the Legislative Council it was official policy not to allow Hong Kong to be used by outsiders for their own political purposes. The government's argument that the refusal of entry to non- residents of Hong Kong "in no way affects the rights of Hong Kong residents to freedom of speech within the law" was spurious to say the least: its action was seen as infringing upon the free exchange of ideas so central to freedom of expression. A Xinhua News Agency official told reporters that the decision had been based on the government's promise "not to make the territory a subversive base for anti-Chinese activities”.
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"Fear thy neighbour", Far Eastern Economic Review, 1 Feb. 1990.
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