04/26/2003
South China Morning Post
Page 5

Lawyers yesterday urged the government to suspend deliberation of draft national security laws until the atypical pneumonia outbreak has stabilised, saying the crisis has further reinforced the need for clarity in the legislation.

The Article 23 Concern Group, consisting of four former Bar Association chairmen, two legislators and legal and human rights academics, also expressed disappointment at the way the Legislative Council Bills Committee was handling the bill.

Chinese University professor Michael Davis said it was inappropriate for the government to continue to insist on swift passage of the bill while it had urgent matters such as the health and economic impact of the outbreak on its hands.

University of Hong Kong Law Faculty dean Johannes Chan Man-mun SC said the Sars crisis made it more important to clearly define notions of "national security".

"Sars indicates that what started as a health issue became one with economic implications, international implications - to what extent would the spread of information on Sars come under the purview of this legislation?" Professor Chan asked.

Former Bar chief Ronny Tong Ka-wah SC said he was disappointed at the lack of adequate opportunities for the public and experts to voice their views.

"One of the goals of Legco should be to go through in-depth, thorough discussions on the issue and understand how the law affects various groups such as the media, librarians, authors, Falun Gong-type groups," he said.

"Five minutes of time per group at public hearings just isn't enough."

Alan Leong Kah-kit SC, also a former Bar chief, said he would spend his five minutes criticising the legislators' handling of the bill on behalf of the Article 23 Concern Group, as the time was hardly sufficient for substantial discussion.

Independent legislator Audrey Eu Yuet-mee SC said many legislators had one mission, to pass the bill through as fast as possible.

"They want lots of meetings very often - despite the fact that there is so much the government and members have to handle with Sars and other urgent matters ... we have 49 members, but how many show up and how many ask constructive questions?" she said.

"International experts have offered to share their expertise but I have to apologise to them and say Legco is not interested and only has five minutes' time for you."

Former legislator and think-tank head Christine Loh Kung-wai added: "At the moment the entire executive structure is overwhelmed by the Sars crisis. What they should do is deal with Sars and come back to this. There is no need to push legislation past in July."

The group has also released 40,000 copies of a "user's guide", entitled "Why the Blue Bill is Not Good Enough", for distribution to schools, through the Law Society and the Bar Association offices, and at Legco.

It includes a form for people to send to their Legco representatives listing their concerns about the laws.

SCMP (South China Morning Post) is a prominent Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper