3 October 2002

The Editor
The Christian Science Monitor

Dear Sir,

Your September 27 article 'Freedom, rights tested in Hong Kong' (World, Asia Pacific) provides a rather lopsided, and in places inaccurate, view of our proposals to protect national security.

Contrary to your headline, very few new laws will be required to bring effect to Article 23 of our mini-constitution, the Basic Law. Most proposals draw on existing laws on the statute book from the then British administration and have actually been narrowed considerably in scope so that an act of violence, the threat of violence or grave criminal behavior is required before many of the offences would be committed.

In fact, very few laws have been proposed. A three-month consultation exercise is now underway, during which the proposals will be fully and freely debated. Following this, any new laws required to bring effect to Article 23 will have to be approved by our own legislature.

In the very unlikely and unfortunate event that any of the proposed offences are committed, the cases would be tried in our own courts, which draw on a long tradition of common law and are fully cognizant of our international human rights obligations.

The claim that Hong Kong's autonomy has 'undergone a steady set of probes by Beijing this year' is not only puzzling, but wrong.

'City leaders' have absolutely no power to overrule any decision by a court in Hong Kong and this did not happen in relation to a court verdict on residency rights this year, nor any other year since Reunification. Falun Gong members were indeed prosecuted this year - for obstructing a public place. They were not prosecuted for their beliefs, but for breaking the law (including obstructing Police and assaulting Police) after repeated Police requests to move on.

Finally, every country has a right to protect its security and sovereignty. The fact that Mainland law on this sensitive subject does not apply in Hong Kong, and that we have been allowed to enact such laws on our own, is a tremendous vote of trust and goodwill from our sovereign. We have a legal responsibility and a moral duty to enact laws on this subject. Failing to do so would create continued uncertainty on this matter among the local and international community.

Yours faithfully, ( Mrs Regina Ip ) Secretary for Security Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

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