Hong Kong's Secretary for Security Regina Ip reiterated Friday that
human rights and freedoms are protected under the Basic Law and the
government will not put forward any proposals that conflict with
these rights.
Speaking in response to concerns raised by White House spokesman
Ari Fleischer on the proposed anti-subversion law, Ip noted that
the White House officials may not fully comprehend the fine details
of the proposals, adding that Hong Kong will continue to explain to
them.
Ip
said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government
will not put forward any proposals that will undermine the basic
human rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong's residents.
Under Article 23 of the Basic Law, "Hong Kong has a constitutional
duty to enact law on our own to protect national security and we
are acting entirely within our autonomy," Ip said.
"If you look at the details of our proposals, if you care to look
at the fine print, you will find that our proposals are more
liberal than a lot of the outdated provisions still on our statutes
inherited from the colonial era," she said.
(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2003)