No liberty, only security

acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;The ability to work together with China will be very important for Hong Kong,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; Tung Chee-hwa said on Thursday. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;We must constantly remind ourselves that we are part of China. We are one country.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;

His office earlier announced minor revisions to previously announced plans to resurrect legislation used by past British governors to suppress public protests and curb political activity. As well as reviving colonial-era controls that have been abolished under Governor Chris Patten since 1992, the proposed curbs also embrace acirc;euro;tilde;national securityacirc;euro;trade;, a legal concept alien to Hong Kong.

Michael Suen, an aide to Tung, said a three-week acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;consultation periodacirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; had shown broad public support for a return to a more conservative system.

He said that protests calling for independence for Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang or any other region of China would not be permitted after Britain pulls out.

Tungacirc;euro;trade;s office received 5,507 written submissions during the consultation but declined to give a detailed breakdown. Chinaacirc;euro;trade;s de facto embassy, the New China News Agency, mobilised an underground Communist Party apparatus and front organisations to submit statements in support of the proposed curbs.

The colonyacirc;euro;trade;s largest political group, the Democratic Party, dismissed concessions made in response to public opinion as cosmetic and technical. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;Overall we are very disappointed,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; said Yeung Sum, the partyacirc;euro;trade;s deputy leader. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;Just making a statement in public will become a threat to national security.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; Patten also voiced alarm at what he called the acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;nebulous notion of national securityacirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;.

He said: acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;The central question that people have been asking about this exercise remains unanswered and this is why any of it should be necessary. The modified proposals are essentially similar to the original ones.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; Plans to reverse Pattenacirc;euro;trade;s reforms were first outlined at the end of 1995, at Chinaacirc;euro;trade;s behest, by a body of Hong Kong tycoons and other grandees set up to oversee the handover. The announcement would seem to close debate on an issue that has envenomed the final stage of Hong Kongacirc;euro;trade;s transition to Chinese rule.

National security is to be defined as acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;safeguarding the territorial integrity and the independence of the Peopleacirc;euro;trade;s Republic of Chinaacirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;. Two bills outlining the new restrictions on protests and political groups are to be submitted for approval to a provisional legislature set up by Beijing to replace an elected assembly.

Despite Tungacirc;euro;trade;s claims that Hong Kong public opinion demanded a shift away from Pattenacirc;euro;trade;s relatively liberal approach, Suen acknowledged Chinaacirc;euro;trade;s role. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;It has been forced upon us. We are trying to make the best of a very bad situation,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; he said. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;We have to face reality.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; Chinaacirc;euro;trade;s National Peopleacirc;euro;trade;s Congress, a rubber-stamp parliament, ruled in February that last-gasp British reforms making it easier to hold demonstrations and form political organisations would not continue beyond the handover. This leaves Tungacirc;euro;trade;s government with a legal vacuum that must be filled.

Suen defended the introduction of national security as grounds for banning protests or political organisations, saying China had security concerns in Hong Kong that Britain never had to face. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;We are 8,000 miles from the UK,acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade; he said. acirc;euro;tilde;acirc;euro;tilde;The state of lawfulness or lawlessness in Hong Kong is not of great concern to the UK. But Britain takes a very different view of the IRA in Northern Ireland.acirc;euro;trade;acirc;euro;trade;

The Observer News Service

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