NYTimes.com Article: Security Laws Target of Huge Hong Kong Protest

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The changing dynamic of Hong Kong and mainland China...  

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Security Laws Target of Huge Hong Kong Protest

July 2, 2003
 By KEITH BRADSHER 




 

HONG KONG, July 1 - Pouring through this city's tropical
parks and its canyons of glittering skyscrapers, an immense
crowd marched here today to protest government plans to
impose stringent internal-security laws. 

Many here describe the proposed laws as the real handover
of Hong Kong to Chinese rule. Parts of the pending security
legislation are less draconian than British colonial
regulations still on the books for offenses like sedition.
But the colonial rules have seldom been enforced since the
late 1960's, including since Britain handed over Hong Kong
to China six years ago today. 

The demonstrators, many carrying umbrellas for shade on a
sunny and unusually hot day, wore mostly black as a sign of
mourning for what they portrayed as Hong Kong's coming loss
of civil liberties. 

Hong Kong's Basic Law, a mini constitution drafted by
Britain and China prior to the transfer of power, called
for Hong Kong to retain its own political and economic
system for 50 years. 

But the Basic Law also required Hong Kong to enact new
security legislation. Following complaints last summer from
Beijing that the legislation had not been enacted, the Hong
Kong administration drafted laws setting long jail terms
for sedition, secession or treason. 

But, as was clear today, the political reaction to the
perceived imposition of Chinese restrictions on freedoms
long enjoyed in Hong Kong has been been vigorous. 

So many people showed up for the protest that marchers
filled the nearly three-mile route, and throngs waited
hours at Victoria Park for their chance to join the
procession. 

The police said that attendance at the demonstration peaked
at 350,000 three hours into the seven-hour march, but
acknowledged that some may have left before then or arrived
later. The Civil Human Rights Front, which organized the
march, estimated total participation at more than 500,000.
Hong Kong has 6.8 million people. 

It was the largest demonstration here since the 1989 march
to protest the killing of students in Tiananmen Square in
Beijing, and the largest protest ever directed against the
Hong Kong government itself. The demonstration today also
appeared to be the largest anywhere on Chinese soil since
Tiananmen Square. 

The most controversial new provision being put forth here
allows the government to ban any organization in Hong Kong
if it has links to an organization banned elsewhere in
China for national security reasons. 

The White House, Britain and the European Union have all
criticized the proposed security legislation in the last
two weeks, especially the provision for banning
organizations here. 

The proposal, embraced by Beijing, has especially alarmed
the leaders of Hong Kong's Roman Catholic Church and
Protestant denominations. They warn that the law could
allow churches to be banned in Hong Kong, as has happened
over the years on the mainland, where the Catholic Church
and many Protestant groups still face repression. 

Tung Chee-hwa, the former shipping tycoon who is Hong
Kong's chief executive, said in a statement late tonight
that he "was very concerned that a large number of citizens
took part in the procession today." He repeated previous
government assurances, met with considerable skepticism
here, that the new legislation would not affect "the rights
and freedoms which have been enjoyed by the people of Hong
Kong." 

At the demonstration, concern about civil liberties mixed
with anger about record unemployment and plunging property
prices in Hong Kong and the slow response this spring to
the spread of SARS. Much of the venom was directed at Mr.
Tung, who is accused of following Beijing's wishes too
closely and of discrediting Hong Kong and China alike by
not reacting quickly enough to problems. 

Mr. Tung's effigy was carried through the streets to jeers
today. 

"Tung Chee-hwa is a traitor," said Paul Chan, a muscular,
45-year-old construction worker, who added that he had
never been to a demonstration before, not even the
Tiananmen Square protest in 1989. "What he does is not
good, and the Chinese government is losing face." 

Sarah Ng, a 67-year-old seamstress, wore a bell-shaped
straw hat and energetically cooled herself with a wooden
fan at the start of the demonstration. She said she had
never before joined a public protest. 

"I'm worried about every kind of freedom - the government
can arrest you any time they want" if the new legislation
is approved, she said. 

Corporate tycoons here were initially wary of the
legislation, but soon dropped most objections after the
bill was amended to restrict the ability of the police to
search and seize financial records, among other changes. 
Contrary to many warnings, China has not cracked down on
civil liberties appreciably since the handover. China's
prime minister, Wen Jiabao, said here this morning that
Hong Kong's freedoms would be protected. He had attended
the signing on Sunday of a free trade pact between the
mainland and Hong Kong, and went to a flag-raising ceremony
to mark the anniversary of the handover, but left Hong Kong
before the march. 

Regina Ip, the Hong Kong secretary of security, said in a
telephone interview late Monday afternoon that the
legislation had been widely misunderstood, and that it
would not impinge on civil liberties. She added that if any
violent civil unrest occurred in the months ahead, it would
likely take the form of "unexpected protests by disgruntled
groups." 


Catholic and Protestant leaders have been urging their
congregations in recent days to attend the rally, and held
a rare joint prayer vigil in Victoria Park at the beginning
of the march. 

Joseph Zen, the Catholic bishop of Hong Kong, said the
security legislation was "like a knife above our heads." 

Only a tenth of Hong Kong's people are Christian, and many
non-Christians also marched. Some labor unions helped plan
the demonstration, while teachers, students, doctors and
journalists also marched. 

Democracy advocates were out in force. The Basic Law calls
vaguely for the government to become more democratic by
2007, when Mr. Tung's current term expires, but his
administration has not yet acted on this. 

Nine months after asking the public's views on security
legislation, Mr. Tung and Mrs. Ip are now in the final
stages of pushing their bill through the Legislative
Council. The government has invoked "fast-track"
parliamentary rules forcing the council to vote before
adjourning later this month. 

The turnout came despite several government measures that
may have discouraged participation. The government
distributed 10,000 tickets for matinee movies, and waived
admission fees for public swimming pools and museums. 

The Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Affairs Department said
the free admissions were part of a celebration of the
disappearance of SARS; public swimming pools and museums
will be free on Sundays this month as well. But democracy
activists were suspicious that the government was actually
trying to suppress turnout for the march. 

The government also allowed a pro-Beijing trade union to
hold an amateur soccer tournament at Victoria Park at the
same time the demonstrators were gathering. A large crowd
of Catholics and Protestants attending the prayer vigil was
tightly pressed against waist-high steel barriers erected
to allow two soccer teams in uniforms to play a match on a
large field before several dozen spectators. 

The crowding and the intense heat - the Hong Kong
Observatory issued its second heat warning of the summer
today - caused people to begin fainting just 20 minutes
into the vigil and more than an hour before the march
began. 

The police cleared paths to those who fainted and carried
them away, sometimes on stretchers. But they did not remove
the barricades, which would have allowed the crowd to
spread out more and also would have allowed people to flow
in from surrounding streets to join the protest. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/02/international/asia/02HONG.html?ex=1058547082&ei=1&en=457d8019e8f4851f


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