Hundreds Rally in Washington, DC to Protest Hong Kong's Article 23 (Photos)

(clearwisdom.net)

(December 14, 2002) -- Nearly 300 people braved brutally cold, wintry weather in the nation's capitol on Saturday to rally against the Hong Kong government's plan to implement anti-subversion legislation known as Article 23. Organized by the Global Coalition Against Article 23 Legislation, individuals and representatives of several human rights organizations gathered at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial for what was billed as a rally in solidarity with Hong Kong citizens who would be staging a major protest march the following day.

Among the organizations represented were the Global Alliance for Democracy and Peace, Free China Movement, China Democracy Party, Amnesty International, Wei Jingsheng Foundation, Friends of Falun Gong, China Support Network, and Chinese Consolidation of Benevolence Association. Several Falun Gong practitioners and a human rights attorney who has filed lawsuits against Chinese Communist Party officials also offered remarks.

According to Coalition spokespersons Al Whitted, speaking in English and Jeffrey Wang, speaking in Chinese, "The point of Article 23 legislation is to expand the communist regime's style of rule to Hong Kong." They called upon the Hong Kong government to "keep a clear mind before making such a serious decision and to protect the future of Hong Kong."

Many speakers echoed the Coalition's sentiments and expressed concern that the anti-subversion legislation was being imposed by Beijing, despite its promise to respect the "One Country, Two Systems" policy that was devised when Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule five years ago. The legislation broadly defines and outlaws acts considered subversive to the government and prohibits political organizations in Hong Kong from "establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies." Citizens and visitors to Hong Kong would be subject to the legislation, which imposes restrictions on the freedoms of speech and assembly.

"Article 23 is extremely terrible...whatever they think is illegal in China will be considered illegal in Hong Kong," stressed Global Alliance for Democracy and Peace Chairman Ho-I Wu. Invoking the memory of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. Wu led those gathered in an impassioned chant to "Stop Article 23."

Joel Siegel, Co-Founder of the Free China Movement and Legislative Assistant at the U.S. Congress called for a moment of silence for Falun Gong practitioners who have been killed by the Chinese government and for another moment of silence that represented "the deafening silence from Congress, the President and people of the United States" regarding Article 23. He questioned why the U.S. condemns Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, but is silent on the abuses of Chinese leaders.

Reading from a letter the organization sent to President George W. Bush, Friends of Falun Gong Communications Director Emily Kutolowski said, "Allowing the police to conduct search and seizure without a court-issued warrant would essentially turn Hong Kong into a police state like that in Mainland China." Friends of Falun Gong is a non-profit human rights group dedicated to supporting and protecting Falun Gong practitioners' freedom of belief.

Amnesty International Advocacy Director T. Kumar expressed his organization's deep concern that "if implemented, Article 23 will open the door to massive human rights abuses."

Noting that the imposition of Communist rule in 1975 caused 10 per cent of the population to flee Laos, a Laotian-born American citizen and Falun Gong practitioner, Wattana Bounthang, offered the example of his homeland as a cautionary tale for Hong Kong. Another Falun Gong practitioner, Korean-American DuWon Kang pointed out that Article 23 "has a great potential of threatening the freedom and prosperity of Hong Kong [and] can open the door for the ruling regime of China to extend its tyranny of unjust and cruel persecution of many innocent people who wish to freely practice their faith." Falun Gong is banned in Mainland China. Many practitioners and human rights watchers are concerned that the imposition of Article 23 would effectively outlaw the peaceful meditative practice in Hong Kong, as well.

Mindful of the symbolism of the rally's location, China Democracy Party Ambassador-at-Large Tim Cooper reminded the crowd that Abraham Lincoln had freed Africans enslaved in America and suggested that in China "slavery of the mind has become [a] high art that would soon become a practiced art in the city of Hong Kong."

Participants in the rally against Article 23 hope that their efforts and similar endeavors around the world will influence Hong Kong legislators as the consultative period for Article 23 draws to a close.