HONG KONG PEOPLE! Are you marching tomorrow? July 1st

[bbchris]

1 July 2003 Protest March!



Against Article 23 Legislation

Return Political Power to People!



Date: 1 July 2003 (Tuesday)

Time: 3:00PM

Venue: From Victoria Park to Central Government Office







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The HK Government failed to issue a "white bill" to set out details or to carry our another consultation exercise. Instead, it introduces a "blue bill" (National Security (Legislative Provisions) Bill) in the Legislative Council (Legco) in early February and starts the legislative process. Presumably, the bill will get passed before the legislative year ended in July next year. A LegCo bills committee has already formed to study to and plans to start working in late March.



Though the bill contains voluminous legal concepts and is not easy to understand, you should not be hold back. You could have a say on whether it should legislate or not, or express your worry on the narrowing down of basic freedoms and human rights. Government officials tried to play down the issue by saying that fellow citizens were not interested at all, and that taxi drivers, restaurant and fast-food shop waiters would not have expertise to understand the bill. In truth, they are not willing to see strong public opposition. If an overwhelming majority were against to legislate, the Government would seriously consider the negative impact of such legislation to the society and to its popularity. It might have to narrow down original proposal and provide more human rights protection, or at best to withdraw the whole proposal. Every submission counts, please do send submission and fight for an open and free society.





They said the law would only affect a handful of "peace disturbers" instead of the man in the street and that there is no need to be alarmed.

Once a law is enacted, everyone is affected. Bearing in mind that political offences are highly subjective in nature, and the decision to prosecute is greatly affected by the current political climate, a string of glaring uncertainties inherent in the government proposals deeply alarms both the legal professions as well as concern groups. You have to understand, once you say yes to legislation, you give the Government the green light to prosecute based on political considerations, including those people who simply express views peacefully. You may fall a prey to the law when you say something against the Government. That is the main reason why we are all so worried.



Finally, the "chilling effect" of the law may silence all different views and eventually lead to self-censorship of the media. Hong Kong is no longer a modern and vibrant society and this cannot be what the Hong Kong people want.



I will never do any act endangering national security, so what do I care?

The Government creates new offences (e.g., secession and subversion) and the general public may unwittingly fall prey to this ambiguous and dubious law. For example:



Whether you know it or not, if you have a "connection" (e.g. financial transactions or provision of goods such as newspaper or daily necessities) with a proscribed local organization affiliated with a Mainland organization that endangers national security, you may be subject to 7 years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine;



If you obtain the official or state secrets through unlawful means, even if you have an intention to promote public interest, you may be subject to 5 years' imprisonment once you disclose the information to the public; or



Handling of seditious publications without reasonable excuse may subject the person to 2 years' imprisonment.



Of course, the Government will try to say it will handle with extreme care and prevent any wrongful prosecution of the innocent. However, in the meantime, they say that it is up to the court to decide. The decision to prosecute however rests solely in the hands of the Government, it can therefore make use of the grey area to prosecute and thus the protection afforded to you is very limited.

Not surpisingly, the Government seeks additional powers that is unprecedented and is in contrary to common law traditions. For example, in accordance with common law, the Police are not allowed to enter private premises for investigative purposes without a warrant issued by court. This safeguard is to protect ordinary citizens from harassment and interference of private properties under the name of police investigation. However, it now proposes that an emergency entry, search, and seizure power should be provided to the police for investigating some Article 23 offences. It is worth mentioning similar powers were not sought by the Government when legislating against terrorists. According to the proposal, the Police can search your place for seditious publications without a warrant. Even if there is insufficient evidence to lay a charge on you, you have already suffered in terms of monetary loss and emotional distress.



What you have been saying all along is just crying wolf! Surely the content of the legislation would be irrelevant if you have complete faith and trust in what this government does!

In fact, the question of trust is irrelevant in our discussion. Legal provisions are written down in black and white and any ambiguity has to be cleared up immediately, leaving no room for maneuvering. After all, having draconian laws in our statute books, no matter whether you enforce them or not, is never a perfect solution. We may be alright for now, but you never know what tomorrow brings.. It's always the best to have a set of laws safeguarding basic human rights values to counteract any possible abuse by the Government.



Mr. Alan LEONG, chairperson of the BAR Association, has rightly pointed out the crux of the issue. He said, "any society governed by the rule of law is based on a mistrust of the Government and its chief. That's why we need to have laws to protect ourselves. If we wholly trust the authority, why not going back to monarchy?"



Having read the above, the Government seems determined to do what it wants. So what can I do?



Silence gives consent. The Government clearly states in its document that it attaches great importance to public comments. If our society as a whole is strongly against the Article 23 legislation, both the CPG and the SAR Government may need to reconsider the impact of the legislation, and hopefully kill off the legislation before it is enacted. In short, no one can fight for your rights and freedoms except yourself. You must seize any chance to fight for your freedoms, never give up any chance to speak out. If you want to make your voice heard, please see the "What can you do" section.

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |

[bbchris]

boink!

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |

[debbie mannas]

I intend to. Are you?



I've never been on a protest march. I signed up to against the domestic helper tax (400bucks a month from employers and then deducted from the helpers), but the rally got cancelled cause of SARS. I am soooooooooo opposed to that tax. Thieves. Everytime there's a fear for the economy they hit (a) domestic helpers (b) old folks payout (3) social security payments.



They should take a fat chunk out of their exorbitant salaries and housing allowances. Swine.



GAH.

[goodisonpark]

If you wanna push my wheelchair, I'll come

The world is your oyster but the future's a clam

[bbchris]

I think this protest march is far more important than the maids salaries. Sorry that's just my opinion. Everyone I know pays their maids MORE than the basic salary.



I'm going with some family members and a bunch of friends.

And I'll push you Cliff - we all will! Come along!

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |

[goodisonpark]

It'll be too hot ... my cast will overheat and my ankle, foot and calf might boil and explode.



Plus my wheelchair weighs a ton, it's a public holiday and we all know I hate politics of all kinds

The world is your oyster but the future's a clam

[bbchris]

This one is a biggie - did you read the above? If it is enacted, the police can come search you without a warrant at home on 'suspected activities' - we could lose our businesses by knowing the 'wrong' person. A lot is at stake. If it is enacted, people will leave HK for freer places to have businesses and live their lives.



Even if you don't like politics, you like freedom to say what you like, where whatever tshirt you like and to say things are crap - right?



You know me bro - I don't get passionate about many non-entertainment things and this is one of them.



Plus having you in a wheelchair means we can tell people to get out the way!! hahahaha Oh I just realised Government House is up a hill......

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |

[goodisonpark]

Yep, i'm too heavy to push up a hill



I won't get into a political debate with ya , but I'll keep sending text messages tomorrow with lyrics from The Clash and The Jam that you can yell out



Anyway, off to bed now. Nite nite!!



p.s. Pass this msg to the pigs and the government:

[droolymutt]

Jeez HK polotics seem diabolical.......



My impression (from the other side of the Planet) is that the government and the people are competitors - fighting AGAINST each other......





blargh...

[bbchris]

It would be cool to have over a million people marching tomorrow. We need to draw attention to this. The HK GOverment keeps saying 'No one cares' - it's more an ignorance thing which the HK Government likes to maintain. I've been discussing with taxi-drivers and waiters all week about this. Bringing awareness is what this march is about - if the local population sees SO MANY people marching - they might question why it's so important.



This is one time when I wished I looked more Chinese than Western....

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |

[debbie mannas]

The HK govt has shot itself in the foot before, example:



1) allowing China to overturn the supreme court ruling about right of abode

2)The extradition cases: big spender and the murderer of kwun tong.



Bad precedents to set and no one said a damn thing.



The domestic helper (DH) tax is VERY important because it shows a society willing to @#%$ on defenseless people. The HK Tax rules allow for a personal allowance of HK$108,000. This automatically exempts DH from paying tax, as they earn MUCH less. HOWEVER, if the govt makes the EMPLOYER pay for it first and the deduct it from the DH salary, then they are not flaunting any tax laws, and there is no tax paperwork from the DH side. CLEVAH. and terribly wicked. and for what, to save a couple million HK???? SHAME.



And Article 23 needs to be stomped on before it takes root. But the HK govt is ball-less - this has China brown-nosing all over it.



Imagine, if they enact article 23 I wont be able to spew like this anymore.

Edited by: debbie mannas at: 6/30/03 5:06 pm

[Seismic Anamoly]

Quote:

---

...the police can come search you without a warrant at home on 'suspected activities' - we could lose our businesses by knowing the 'wrong' person.

---

That truly SUCKS...Big Brother at his finest....



It's called "Reasonable Suspicion" here, the keyword being "Reasonable"....but it is abused all the time...



Tell then I said to Kiss My Ass, too!!

[LarreeMP3]

"You know me bro - I don't get passionate about many non-entertainment things and this is one of them."

Heavy statement, Chris! I would march with you if I lived in HK! I would even help push your brotha's wheelchair!

[memphis mike]

Kudos to you BoBo!

[bbchris]

Taken from today's SCMP:



Mass turnout expected for historic protest



JIMMY CHEUNG





Hong Kong marks the dawn of its seventh year under Chinese rule today with an historic anti-government protest expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life.

Organisers said the latest turnout estimate was close to 200,000, the biggest since the million-strong demonstration in support of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement in 1989.



Amid concerns that Hong Kong's international image would be marred by the mass protest, Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday said only that he hoped Hong Kong would continue to have a stable environment that favoured foreign investment.



The mass protest comes as Mr Wen is scheduled to attend the flag-raising ceremony and a government reception in Wan Chai to celebrate Hong Kong's sixth anniversary of reunification with China.



But the nation's leader will leave shortly before the march from Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to the Government Headquarters in Central begins at 3pm.



In a final attempt to avert confusion and chaos, police held talks with the Civil Human Rights Front yesterday to sort out the logistics for protesters to arrive and disperse peacefully.



The protest is widely seen as a final showdown amid growing dissatisfaction against the Tung administration and the politically sensitive anti-subversion law, which Britain and the United States fear would erode Hong Kong's freedom and breach the "one country, two systems" principle.



The latest survey by the Public Opinion Programme of the Hong Kong University found that almost half of the public was dissatisfied with the current political situation, with the percentage surging 14 points from March to 48 per cent in June.



Only 19 per cent of the 1,043 respondents were satisfied, nine points down from the March figure. Another fifth gave a "half-half" response. The economy remains the most concerning issue, with 82 per cent of the respondents unhappy about the current situation.



Unionist legislator Lee Cheuk-yan, spokesman of Civil Human Rights Front, said he believed the turnout would definitely exceed the original target of 100,000.



"I keep receiving good news from people saying they will definitely come. It's difficult to give an estimate. But I think the turnout might go up to 200,000," he said.



Referring to the extensive media coverage of Mr Wen's walk-about in several districts yesterday, Mr Lee conceded that the visiting leader had cut an imposing figure with the public.



But he said he was not worried it would cool down simmering public grievances and dampen turnout. A Democratic Party survey found 44 per cent of people surveyed would take to the streets today.

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |