01/29/2003

The Hong Kong government has watered down its proposed national security law, but is still not granting further consultation in the form of a white bill - the biggest demand of critics. Many said the concessions do not go far enough.

The government yesterday described the changes, which follow a three-month consultation period, as intended to ease the public's worries that freedoms would be curbed.

The concessions on the proposals for implementing Article 23 of the Basic Law include exempting foreign nationals from prosecution for treason and abolishing the contentious offence of seditious publication.

But the government has left nearly intact its proposal for banning Hong Kong groups subordinate to groups outlawed on national security grounds on the mainland.

Calls for public interest to be permitted as a defense to a charge of illegal disclosure of protected information were also rejected. However, a concession has been made on the definition of information covering "relations between Beijing and the special administrative region". The definition has been narrowed to information concerning defense, foreign relations and other affairs within the responsibility of the central government under the Basic Law.

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Pressure on the government to dilute the national security law proposals has been growing since September. Professional bodies and some foreign governments and business groups had warned they would restrict freedom and civil liberties.

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A total of 4,150 submissions, including those from outspoken critics of the legislative proposals such as the Bar Association and the local Falun Gong, have been classified as not containing views explicitly supportive of or opposed to the draft. The security chief denied this meant the groups' views had been swept aside.

She also said the original proposals had been liberal, and called the changes clarifications rather than concessions.

"The government has accepted the public views. Why insist on the government admitting it has made concessions?" Mrs Ip said.

She would not say if the revised proposals were the "bottom line". And officials were publicly noncommittal about whether a white bill would be published before the measures were debated in the Legislative Council.

Mrs Ip said: "We will publish the provisions as soon as possible. Whether the colour is white or blue, we will still listen to public views." The announcement drew mixed reactions.

The Bar Association and the Journalists Association said their previous concerns about the protection on human rights and media freedom had not been addressed. The Falun Gong said the proposal remained a threat to its operations in Hong Kong. Democratic Party leader Yeung Sum dismissed the amendments as superficial.

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