European Parliament Unanimously Adopts Resolution Expressing "strong opposition to any move on the part of the Hong Kong authorities to ban the Falun Gong" and "serious concern" over Article 23

(Clearwisdom.net)On April 8 2003, the plenary session of the European Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution regarding two reports on Hong Kong. The resolution contained sharp criticisms of the Hong Kong authority's treatment of Falun Gong and, in particular, the proscription mechanism in the proposed Article-23 legislation which is widely believed to be targeting Falun Gong.

The Resolution states "any legislation introduced under Article 23 must not interfere with the exclusive jurisdiction of Hong Kong courts; regrets the decision of the HKSAR government to ignore the legitimate and strongly supported demand for the publication of a white bill on the proposed Article 23 legislation, to be followed by a second round of public consultation".

The report also reveals that the European Parliament "expresses its serious concern with regard to several aspects of the proposed Article 23 legislation, particularly the proposals relating to the proscription of organisations outlawed in mainland China on national security grounds and the totally inadequate appeal mechanism, which runs contrary to the spirit of Article 35 of the Basic Law".

The Resolution noted "many groups have expressed serious concern at the proposed implementation of Article 23 of the Basic Law, which would provide for heavy penalties, including imprisonment, for treason, sedition, subversion and theft of state secrets, but whereas precise definitions of these crimes have not yet been produced".

Underlining Europe's concern, the Resolution pointed out that "many EU companies are involved in the banking, insurance and securities industries in Hong Kong and many more have their regional headquarters in the HKSAR".

The Resolution made sharp comments on the Hong Kong authority's treatment of Falun Gong: "[The European Parliament] states therefore its strong opposition to any move on the part of the Hong Kong authorities to ban the Falun Gong".

Article from: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200304/11602.html