Hong Kong Clarifies Law on Banning of Protests

HONG KONG — The government added the fine print Friday to its new law giving police the power to ban any protests on the grounds of “national security,” with illegal acts now including demonstrations that advocate the independence of Hong Kong, Taiwan or Tibet.

Lawmakers had left the “national security” term undefined when they passed the law hours after China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong from Britain on July 1.

“Advocacy might threaten the territorial integrity of the People’s Republic of China,” said a government spokesman, adding that it would take only one person campaigning for separation from China for this threat to be deemed valid.

Organizers of local rallies such as the annual June 4 commemoration of the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square--attended this year by more than 50,000 people--say they are worried.

“This takes away the basic right of people in Hong Kong to demonstrate,” said trade unionist Lee Cheuk-yan. “It is very inappropriate for police to determine the political screening of all demonstrators. Their role is to maintain order. It is not to control freedom of expression.”

Law Yuk-kai, director of Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor, said advocating separatism should be no threat to a democratic society.

“In Canada there is the Parti Quebecois, in Britain the Scottish National Party,” Law said. “They both want independence; they both are legally allowed to operate and free to organize public gatherings.”

But Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed leader, Tung Chee-hwa, has often argued that liberal laws governing protests introduced by former British Gov. Chris Patten must be tightened to strike a balance between civil liberties and social stability.

In April, Tung announced that after Hong Kong’s return to China, rally organizers would have to seek permission from police in advance and wait for a “notice of no objection.” Previous laws only required organizers to notify police and were largely aimed at preventing traffic snarl-ups.

While Tung has not explained why Hong Kong under Chinese rule needs tighter laws than under British rule, one of his top officials, Michael Suen, has said that the territory’s small size and open economy make it “vulnerable to external forces.”

The new laws appear to be aimed at pro-democracy groups, who often hold peaceful rallies in the territory’s congested streets. Recent themes of such rallies have included demands for the release of political prisoners in China and calls for the resignation of Chinese Premier Li Peng.

Rallies advocating the independence of Hong Kong, Taiwan or Tibet are rare.

Law said that Tung knows this but is slowly adding laws that depoliticize Hong Kong and fulfill his aim of turning the former colony into purely a money-making machine.