[Note: The references republished in this website from other sources were all written by non-practitioners. They may have views different from those of Falun Gong practitioners.]

Last June, China's Central Government showed particular concerns toward Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law. It required that the article "must be carried out." Article 23 is as follows: "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, or 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."

There are seven actions prohibited by Article 23. The first five are obvious, but the last two are ambiguous. What does it mean by prohibiting the establishment of ties with foreign political organizations? Is "uniting the proletarians all over the world" becoming illegal? Has Declaration of Communists become a prohibited book? "Liaison between the domestic and abroad," coming from the mouths of communist leaders are lies cooked up for the interests of communists. As for "to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion, theft of state secrets" and so forth, these crimes all have incorporated Chinese features. One must read between the lines, examine history carefully, and understand the facts thoroughly. Only then one can understand the essence of these words.

Some say, "Punishing the act of treason is an international convention." Facts tell us more than speech. The mainland initiated Article 23 and has been applying it as a means of suppressing the people under a one party dictatorship. The article is used as a model for fabricating crimes imposed on innocent people. It has nothing to do with the internationally recognized rules and laws. In the past 50 years, such cases in Mainland China have accumulated in stacks as high as mountains, and they have nothing to do with "national interest." As a result, the "salvation provider," who was actually hurting and damaging the nation and the people, has been worshiped by dictators one generation after another. Those labeled with crimes of treason have mounted to millions. Unwilling to be slaves, these patriotic, although studying, working, and seeing the doctor with everybody else in the morning, were announced with the crime of treason and were sentenced to prison for unknown reasons in the afternoon!

Mao Zedong himself spoke openly about his violations against the international conventions. The translator Mr. Luo Jinan asked him, "If Lu Xun (the father of modern Chinese literature, fierce critic of the system, died in 1936 before the communist party took power) were still alive today, what would happen to him?" Mao Zedong answered calmly, "He would be either detained in prison if he insisted on writing, or be silent and conform to the trend." This is a historical fact exposed by Mr. Zhou Haiying, Lu Xun's wise descendant. Ms. Huang Zongying also confirmed that Mao Zedong had spoken about this. Zhao Dan, Luo Jinan, and Ms. Zongying, were all at a table with Mao. The so-called person "conforming to the trend" actually means acknowledging that the communist party is the sole leader of all. "To conform to the trend," means to obey the party. To obey the party one must "keep silent." "Not keeping silent" is the act of treason. A person who has committed "an act of treason" must be put in prison. Is "Party is a nation" an "international convention?" And "Not obeying the leadership of the communist party is treason" an "international convention?" Is one considered guilty for speech an "international convention?" Is suppressing the dissidents an "international convention?" Without feeling ashamed for abusing human rights, how can this party use "international conventions" as recourse? One is arrested simply for disobeying the party, this is obviously the "the convention of the party," and not at all the "international convention!" This is the essence of the seven crimes of "treason, secession, sedition, subversion, theft of state secret, and liaison between domestic and abroad " in Mainland China for fifty years!

Hong Kong has freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of belief, freedom of education, freedom of assembly, freedom of protest and so on. All of these should be granted in the everyday life of normal people and be the true international conventions. But these conventions have made the leaders in Beijing restless. They finally issued the order of carrying out Article 23. The so-called carrying out Article 23 actually means putting Hong Kong under the law of the one party dictatorship completely through "enacting laws."

The day when the Article 23 is carried out will be the day when freedom in Hong Kong is lost.