HONG KONG, China -- Barristers have warned that any attempt to legislate against Falun Gong or other groups would threaten freedoms guaranteed by the constitution.

Their warning comes amid worries that Hong Kong may ban the spiritual group condemned as [slanderous words omitted] by China but allowed to exist in the former British colony.

Hong Kong Bar Association chairman Alan Leong told reporters that there was no reason for the government to outlaw Falun Gong.

Hong Kong officials have said they are studying laws in other countries that ban cults.

In the association's statement, it urged the government to "preserve the rule of law" and uphold the Chinese territory's autonomy, saying that Falun Gong is an "illusory threat."

Legislation aimed at curtailing Falun Gong's activities would "have a grave impact not only on the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of thought, conscience, belief and religion in Hong Kong but also on freedoms of expression, assembly and association," Leong wrote in the release.

Hong Kong enjoys a great deal of western-style freedom and autonomy under an arrangement dubbed "one country, two systems" -- put in place when the former British colony reverted to Chinese rule four years ago.

Banned in China

The Beijing authorities are fearful of the strong organizational power of the Falun Gong meditation [group], which claims to have hundreds of thousands of followers in China and elsewhere around the world.

The association said the use of the word "cult" was "pejorative" and that the government already has a sufficient "legal armory" to deal with any cult and its activities.

"If governments were allowed to suppress or modify personal thoughts and beliefs, an individual would lose that which makes him a human being," it said.

The government, however, responded that since [slanderous words omitted] have become a matter of concern around the world, it has responsibility to keep track of developments and study the experience of other countries.

"At this stage, it is premature to speculate whether legislation is necessary," it said in a statement.