Thursday, 16-Jan-2003
HONG KONG, Jan 17 (AFP) - More than 1,000 trade unionists from around the world have sent e-mails to Hong Kong's chief warning that planned security laws threaten political and civil rights, labour groups said.
The e-mails are part of a campaign that calls on the world's trade unions to support workers in Hong Kong in "defence of the right to organise, protest and campaign for better working conditions and human rights," they said in statement late Thursday.
These rights could be threatened by the anti-subversion laws, the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) and China Labour Bulletin (CLB) said.
The former British territory has been obliged since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997 to pass laws banning treason, sedition, subversion and theft of state secrets.
The HKCTU and CLB criticised China's use of its subversion laws saying Beijing used them to quell threats to its control and Hong Kong should not be subjected to China's concept of national security.
"The subversion charges laid against Liaoyang labour activists Yao Fuxin and Xiao Yunliang are sharp reminders of what the Chinese government sees as 'protecting national security' which is hailed as the justification for enacting new anti-subversion laws in Hong Kong," the statement said.
The two were arrested in Liaoyang city in March following large-scale demonstrations in which thousands of people denounced corrupt local politicians and demanded greater help for laid-off workers.
"The subversion charges are the usual 'legal' weapon that the Chinese government employs to wipe out threats to the ruling regime," the statement said.
The statement noted that an online protestor from Australia said in her e-mail to Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa: "Only fearful governments implement repressive legislation to inhibit the rights of its citizens. What is your government afraid of?"
Meanwhile, Bill Rammell, British parliamentary under-secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said he had told Chinese officials during a recent visit to Beijing that international confidence in Hong Kong would be undermined if the issue were mishandled.
"This is a crucial piece of legislation. The way it is handled will determine international confidence. Our view is that there should be the widest possible consultation on the details," he told the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong on Thursday.
However, Rammell said he was "quietly heartened" to note Hong Kong officials recognised that more details of the proposed anti-subversion laws would be needed before the actual legislative procedures began.
"I was somewhat encouraged by what I heard that they have not ruled out further consultation on the details before it gets to the blue bill stage," he said.
"They (officials) hope that people will be pleasantly surprised when they see the content of the legislation. But until people see the detailed legislation, there can't be that reassurance."
The proposed anti-subversion laws, set to take effect in mid-2003, have sparked widespread concerns that basic rights will be curtailed in Hong Kong.
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/cp/Qhongkong-subversion.Roxd_DJH.html