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In response to the statement issued by the White House, a Government spokesman reiterated today (June 20) that in accordance with Article 23 of the Basic Law, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) had a constitutional duty to enact laws on its own to protect national security.
He said the National Security (Legislative Provisions) Bill was in full accord with the "One Country, Two Systems" principle and international human rights standards.
"The Bill has proposed that all its provisions must be interpreted, applied and enforced in accordance with Chapter III of the Basic Law, which mandates strict compliance with international standards on rights and freedoms, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. There is no question of our Bill harming the fundamental rights of local residents.
"Our proposals represent a liberalisation of existing laws on treason, sedition and protection of official secrets and compare favourably with similar legislation in other common law jurisdictions," the spokesman said.
He denied that the proscription mechanism was targeted at any specific organisation.
"The power of proscription, which would be vested in the Secretary for Security, would only be exercised if the Secretary reasonably believes that the proscription is necessary and proportionate in the interests of national security. All proscription decisions are appealable in the courts of Hong Kong," he said.
On unauthorised disclosure of protected information, the spokesman said Hong Kong's law in this area was based on legislation enacted in the United Kingdom in 1989, which did not include a public interest defence.
"The proposals for criminalising the unauthorised and damaging disclosure of limited categories of information already take into account the public interest and the need to strike a balance between protecting national security and safeguarding freedom of information.
"We think US officials, in making the remarks, may not have a full understanding of the details of our proposals, which we will continue to explain to them," the spokesman said.
So far as protection of human rights and freedoms is concerned, the spokesman said, "Our track record in the last six years, since the establishment of the HKSAR, demonstrates that the institutions in Hong Kong are fully capable of protecting these rights and freedoms."
"The Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance provides constitutional and statutory safeguards for human rights and freedoms. The courts of Hong Kong have acted vigilantly according to our constitution and common law principles in safeguarding these rights and freedoms. We have an open and transparent Government which is accountable to the Legislative Council according to the Basic Law. The free press in Hong Kong exercise their function of public scrutiny consistently and persistently."
The spokesman said, "The Basic Law provides that we should pursue constitutional development, having regard to the actual situation in Hong Kong, in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress and with the ultimate aim of attaining universal suffrage. Annex II of the Basic Law provides for a progressive increase in the number of directly elected seats for the first three terms of the Legislative Council after reunification."
"According to the Basic Law, it is for Hong Kong to determine the pace and direction of constitutional development beyond 2007. We will conduct the review on post-2007 constitutional development according to the Basic Law and set aside sufficient time for a wide public consultation," he said.
End/Friday, June 20, 2003
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