Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Tung Chee Hwa issued a statement early Monday morning, saying the government has decided to defer the resumption of the second reading of the draft National Security Bill, a bill which is aimed to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law of the HKSAR.
The statement said the government will step up efforts to explain the amendments on the Bill to the community in the coming days.
It reiterated that Hong Kong has a constitutional duty to legislate for ensuring national security. Early enactment of the legislation can enable the government and the community to concentrate on revitalizing the economy, it added.
The chief executive announced last Saturday that in response to the concerns and aspirations of the community, the government decided to introduce significant and important amendments to the draft National Security (Legislative Provisions) Bill.
Many members of the community thought that the government had responded positively to their concerns. However, the statement said, quite a number of them hoped that the government would allow them more time to study the amendments and the bill in the greater detail.
The Liberal Party issued a statement Sunday night, asking the government to defer the resumption of the second reading of the bill. James Tien, chairman of the party, also tendered his resignation from the Executive Council.
Tung immediately convened a special meeting of the Executive Council and issued the statement after the session.
The statement said after full discussion, the Executive Council decided to defer the resumption of the second reading of the bill, which was scheduled for July 9.
Tung said in the statement that he had accepted Tien's resignation and welcomed the Liberal Party's reiteration of its continued support for the legislative work of the bill in order to safeguard national security.
(Xinhua News Ageny July 7, 2003)
