Joint Statement of Canadians urging the HKSAR Government to begin a
genuine dialogue on governance and democratic reform
On July 1st, 2003, an estimated 500,000 people in Hong Kong
marched in the streets to protest the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
(HKSAR) government’s proposed national security bill on the implementation of
Basic Law Article 23.
We, the undersigned, are encouraged by the HKSAR government decision on
July 7, 2003 to postpone the second reading of the national security bill. In
fact, we stand in solidarity with Hong Kong citizens and groups calling on the
HKSAR government to abandon this ill-defined and potentially abusive
legislation altogether.
Hong Kong civil society including business organizations, democracy
activists, students groups, journalists, trade unions, human rights groups and
NGOs, political parties, religious and social groups and concerned individuals
have repeatedly expressed serious concerns over the draconian measures proposed
in the national security bill calling it a direct threat to fundamental civil
liberties guaranteed for Hong Kong residents after the territory's handover to
China in 1997.
The HKSAR government had proposed last minute changes to the
legislation relating to the proscription of societies, the creation of a public
interest defence and the removal of police powers to carry out warrantless
searches. These inadequate changes do not go far enough to protect the rights
of the Hong Kong people, and may in fact serve to worsen the situation. The
Hong Kong Bar Association among other groups have raised over 100 concerns with
the national security bill.
This legislation, which was introduced into the non-democratically
elected Hong Kong legislature in February 2003, would assign penalties for acts
of treason, subversion, sedition, and secession. We fear that it would offer
opportunities for the government of Hong Kong—and by extension, the Chinese
government in Beijing—with the legal means to prosecute those who dare to
criticize. We are aware that numerous activists and dissidents in China have
been detained and sentenced on the charge of revealing state secrets. The
proposals to allow for secret trials runs counter to internationally recognized
rights to fair trials and represent a serious erosion of human rights. The
extra-territoriality aspects of the national security bill mean that Hong Kong
permanent residents and Chinese nationals may face charges for political
activities conducted outside of HKSAR.
The people of Hong Kong have in two large demonstrations clearly stated their
demands for transparency of government and democratic reform.
We therefore urge the HKSAR government to engage the Hong Kong people
in an open and frank discussion not only of the national security bill but of
the transparency of governance in Hong Kong and a genuine dialogue on the
creation of a more democratic Hong Kong by 2007, when the transitional period
of the territory’s handover to China expires.
The world community including Canadians will continue to support the
Hong Kong people in pressing the HKSAR government to realize and respect
universally recognized human rights standards.
Signed,
Vancouver Society In Support of Democratic Movement
Vancouver Hong Kong Forum Society
Vancouver Association of Chinese Canadians
Toronto Association for Democracy in China
Movement for Democracy in China (Calgary)
Democracy China-Ottawa
Mary-Woo Sims, Former BC Chief Human Rights Commissioner
Global Coalition Against Article 23