Clearwisdom.net) Central News Agency reported on October 30 that in a recently conducted survey of five hundred Hong Kong citizens by the (Hong Kong) Democratic Party, 40% were against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's proposal to create new legislation based on Article 23 of the Basic Law. This is a 6% increase from the survey conducted three weeks ago. Of the interviewees 28% supported the legislation, which is a decrease of 4%.
Democratic Party Chairman, Li Zhuming, said at today's Press Conference that the survey indicates that as more Hong Kong residents are discussing Article 23, and more will oppose the new legislation that plans to be made from it.
Article 23 of the Basic Law, which was passed in 1990, states: "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition and subversion against the Central People's Government, to prohibit theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the region, and to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies."
Since Hong Kong returned to China, the Special Administrative Region Government has been running Hong Kong according to the Basic Law. No legislation has been implemented based on Article 23 so far. It is generally understood that the Special Administrative Region Government is very cautious about Article 23, since it is very sensitive (in regards to jeopardizing the basic freedoms of Hong Kong citizens). Actually, Hong Kong society takes different stances regarding the government's creation of new legislation according to the Basic Law. While local democratic groups, such as the Democratic Party and Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement of China firmly oppose the legislation, quite a few other groups support the legislation because they think it will help stop any crimes of sedition and secession from occurring. They feel that other countries and regions should also create similar laws as well.
Currently, it seems inevitable that the Special Administrative Region Government will create new legislation based on Article 23. What the outside world is most concerned about is how this legislation will affect one's freedom to practice Falun Gong, be a member of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement of China, or make speeches regarding Taiwanese Independence, Tibetan Independence and Xinjiang Independence. All of these topics have been frequently debated in Hong Kong during recent years.
