16 January 2003

The Editor
The Guardian

Dear Sir,

Martin Woollacott in his article "Clampdown marks the end of Hong Kong's honeymoon" (January 10, 2003) carries a number of misconceptions about Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government's proposals to enact national security laws, which I wish to clarify.

All our proposals to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law to protect national security are home-grown and based on existing legislation. They are drawn up strictly following common law principles as well as international standards on the protection of human rights, and in accordance with the "One Country, Two Systems" principle. There is no question of extending Mainland laws or concepts on national security to Hong Kong.

Our current law on protection of official information is based on UK statues. We have proposed very few changes to the existing law on official secrets. We will continue to strike the right balance between freedom of expression, including press freedom, and freedom of information, and protection of national security.

The proposed emergency powers for the Police to stop serious national security offences are similar to those wielded by law enforcement agencies in other common law jurisdictions. They will be exercised only in tightly defined circumstances and a judicial warrant will be required under all other situations.

On the proscription of a Hong Kong organization affiliated with a Mainland organization which has been proscribed in the Mainland by the Central authorities on national security grounds, the Secretary for Security must be satisfied by evidence of the said affiliation, and must reasonably believe that it is necessary in the interests of national security or public safety or public order to ban the affiliated organization, in strict accordance with the standards stipulated under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, before the power of proscription can be exercised. The Secretary for Security's decision will be based entirely on Hong Kong laws and not Mainland laws, and is also fully appealable through the courts of Hong Kong.

I must stress that our proposals to implement Article 23 do not target any individuals or organizations. The HKSAR Government will not intervene in the lawful activities of any organizations in Hong Kong.

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

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