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Future restrictions on Hong Kong liberties eased
But right to protest will still be limited
May 15, 1997
Web posted at: 1:40 p.m. EDT (1740 GMT)From Hong Kong Bureau Chief Mike Chinoy
HONG KONG (CNN) -- Facing disapproval at home and abroad, Hong Kong's future government backpedaled on Thursday, saying its planned restrictions on civil liberties would be loosened slightly.
Although the changes appear to be a significant loosening in some respects, they don't make clear whether Hong Kong will remain as free as it is now, 47 days before the British colony returns to Chinese sovereignty.
And Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp suffered a setback Wednesday when City Hall refused to let it use city parks for eve-of-handover rallies and the display of an 8-meter (26-foot)-high memorial to victims of Chinese oppression.
China's original proposals, announced last month, "contained unnecessary restrictions and rightly aroused widespread concern both in Hong Kong and internationally," the British Foreign Office said in a statement on Thursday.
The revised version:
- No longer requires seven days advance notice to police before protesters can hold a march.
- Gives the government the right to ban any demonstration or outlaw any group on the grounds of national security.
- Seeks to define "national security" -- a term that caused widespread alarm when it was first unveiled because Hong Kong associates it with Chinese authoritarianism.
- Eases a ban on international funding of local political groups to allow overseas individuals (but not organizations) to make donations.
Demonstrations are a regular feature of Hong Kong's political landscape. But an aide to Hong Kong leader-in-waiting Tung Chee-hwa stressed that "national security" would be paramount in Hong Kong's post-handover laws, which are expected to outlaw any protests advocating independence for Taiwan or Tibet, which China regards as its rightful territory.
Tung has justified restrictions as being necessary to balance individual rights against civic order.
The new regulations leave unclear just how the government will handle the demonstrations expected around the July 1 handover date. But pro-democracy activist Yeung Sum predicted trouble.
"We can't rule out the possibility that people like us, who believe in democracy and human rights will think these restrictions are unnecessary and use some kind of civil disobedience," he said.
China has promised to preserve Hong Kong's freedoms for 50 years. But the apparent softening of the new government's position still undermines a key legal principle.
The right of people to demonstrate whenever they want is being replaced by the rule that no demonstrations will be allowed unless the police say yes.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Mainland Chinese flee to Hong Kong before handover - May 14, 1997
- Hong Kong stages annual Bun Festival - May 10, 1997
- China warns that political protests may not be allowed in Hong Kong - October 23, 1996
- Governor defends Hong Kong democracy in final speech - October 2, 1996
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