Lawmakers in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) have voiced their support on the government's plan to legislate to protect national security.
They expressed their support after the SAR government launched a consultation to collect public opinions on the drafting of the law in accordance to article 23 of the Basic Law, which requires the government to make law on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's government and theft of state secrets.
Raymond Wu, a Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress, praised the government for opting for a blue-paper consultation, which he said demonstrates the government's determination to promptly fulfill the requirement of article 23.
"The swifter the Hong Kong government completes the lawmaking process, the less worries the process generates," he said.
Legislative Councilor Raymond Ho said he does not feel that the government's move to legislate will curtail freedoms in any way thanks to the sufficient protection of the fundamental rights of the Hong Kong residents by other parts of the Basic Law.
( October 14, 2002)
