Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06HONGKONG1863
2006-05-04 11:25:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Hong Kong
Cable title:  

ARTICLE 23 NATIONAL SECURITY DEBATE REAPPEARS IN

Tags:  PREL PGOV CH HK 
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VZCZCXRO3942
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHHK #1863/01 1241125
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 041125Z MAY 06
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6504
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HONG KONG 001863 

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DEPARTMENT FOR EAP AND EAP/CM
NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2031
TAGS: PREL PGOV CH HK
SUBJECT: ARTICLE 23 NATIONAL SECURITY DEBATE REAPPEARS IN
HONG KONG

REF: A. HONG KONG 1816

B. HONG KONG 1862

Classified By: E/P Section Chief Simon Schuchat; Reasons 1.4 (b, d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HONG KONG 001863

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP AND EAP/CM
NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2031
TAGS: PREL PGOV CH HK
SUBJECT: ARTICLE 23 NATIONAL SECURITY DEBATE REAPPEARS IN
HONG KONG

REF: A. HONG KONG 1816

B. HONG KONG 1862

Classified By: E/P Section Chief Simon Schuchat; Reasons 1.4 (b, d)


1. (C) Summary: On April 27, Professor Wang Zhenmin, a PRC
member of the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee, publicly listed
six prerequisites for implementation of universal suffrage in
Hong Kong, one of which was enactment of Article 23 national
security legislation (ref a). Reaction in Hong Kong to these
comments has been predictably varied, with pro-Beijing
figures downplaying their significance, pan-democrats
expressing some concern, and independent observers suggesting
that Wang's views are not new. In any case, it is not clear
how authoritative Wang's comments are. Civic Party leader
Audrey Eu, a founding member of the "Article 23 Concern
Group," said her party did not oppose Article 23 legislation
in principle if it were "properly" executed, but also
observed that PRC views of "national security" were
fundamentally different from those of her party. Eu believed
new Article 23 legislation would be one of the first items on
the agenda of a reelected Donald Tsang administration in late
2007 or early 2008. End Summary.

Article 23 Security Legislation
--------------


2. (C) On May 7-18, former Hong Kong Secretary for Justice
Elsie Leung, who retired from Hong Kong Government service
last October, will lead a "Better Hong Kong Foundation"
(BHKF) delegation to the U.S.; she has told the media here
that she plans to explain to her U.S. interlocutors Hong
Kong's progress on implementation of the "One Country Two
Systems" principle since the 1997 handover to the PRC and
other political and economic issues (ref b).


3. (C) Coincidentally, this visit will take place just as
the long-dormant debate over Article 23 National Security
legislation for Hong Kong may be reappearing. In March,
Leung was appointed Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Basic Law
Committee (BLC),which advises the NPCSC on interpretations
and amendments of the Basic Law. On April 27, Professor Wang
Zhenmin, a PRC member of the BLC and Deputy Dean of the

Tsinghua University Law School in Beijing, reignited the

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somewhat dormant Article 23 debate through his assertion that
enactment of Article 23 legislation was one of six
prerequisites for establishment of universal suffrage and
full democracy in Hong Kong (ref). That provision of the
Basic Law requires, without specification of a timetable, the
HKSARG to "enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of
treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central
People's Government." It is not clear how authoritative
Wang's remarks are, in particular whether the linkage he
draws between Article 23 and universal suffrage -- which has
no basis in the Basic Law -- is a new precondition, or merely
a trial balloon.


4. (C) In 2002-03, the Article 23 legislation was probably
the most contentious political issue in Hong Kong.
Opposition to the HKSARG's September 2002 proposals for an
anti-subversion (Article 23) law, which had been prepared at
the request of the central government in Beijing, culminated
in a massive protest demonstration on July 1, 2003, after
which the government first amended, then completely withdrew
the proposed legislation. In April 2004, then-Chief
Executive Tung issued a report to the NPCSC that paved the
way for the NPCSC's April 26 reinterpretation of the Basic
Law to preclude implementation of universal suffrage for the
2007 CE and 2008 Legco elections. Tung's report listed nine
factors requiring consideration as Hong Kong moved toward
greater democratization; Article 23 was not one of them.

Mixed Reactions in Hong Kong
--------------


5. (C) Initial local reactions to the reappearance of the
Article 23 debate have varied widely but predictably. Thus
far the HKSARG has avoided public comment. On May 3,
Executive Council member Anthony Cheung, an independent
democrat, told poloff that any mention of Article 23 would
provoke controversy in Hong Kong. That said, Cheung believed
the issue could be viewed both positively and negatively. On
the one hand, he believed pro-democracy leaders such as the
Civic Party's Ronny Tong would admit that some form of
"national security" legislation is required by the Basic Law;
the area of contention is simply what form that legislation
would take. On the other hand, however, Cheung recognized
that some people in Hong Kong would view Professor Wang's

HONG KONG 00001863 002 OF 003


comments as interference in Hong Kong's autonomy in an effort
to keep Hong Kong from "drifting away" from Beijing. The
crux of the issue, Cheung believed, was the relationship and
level of mutual trust between the democratic camp in Hong
Kong and the government in Beijing. Cheung also said he saw
nothing new in Professor Wang's remarks, which he believed
merely signified mainland legal experts' concerns about
universal suffrage in Hong Kong. He told the press that the
people of Hong Kong would not oppose enactment of Article 23
legislation as long as it struck a "proper balance" between
the interests of various sectors.


6. (C) On May 3, BLC member and Hong Kong University
Professor of Law Albert Chen told poloff that the recent
remarks by his BLC colleague Professor Wang "did not merit
too much attention." They did not signify any change in
Beijing's position on the issues of Article 23 and
democratization in Hong Kong. Furthermore, Chen said
inclusion of Article 23 as one of six prerequisites for
universal suffrage was not new. In fact, he believed
enactment of some form of Article 23 legislation, required by
the Basic Law, was "long overdue" and would need to be
addressed after the 2007 election. Chen said it would not be
a "big problem" as long as some concessions to the
pan-democrats were included.

Democrats Concerned
--------------


7. (C) Hong Kong's pro-democracy leaders have expressed
varying degrees of concern and skepticism about revival of
the Article 23 debate. On May 4, Audrey Eu, leader of the
newly formed Civic Party (which originally was formed as the
"Article 23 Concern Group") told poloff that while her party
did not oppose Article 23 legislation in principle, any
initiative in this area would need to be done "properly."
She differentiated her party's views from those of the
Democratic Party, which she said demanded deferral of
consideration of the legislation until universal suffrage and
a fully democratic system were in place in Hong Kong. That
said, however, she also observed that PRC views of "national
security," entailing for example restrictions on internet
access and jailing of internet users who circumvent those
restrictions, were fundamentally different from those of her
party. Eu believed new Article 23 legislation would be one
of the first items on the agenda of a reelected Donald Tsang
administration in late 2007 or early 2008.


8. (C) Also on May 4, HKCTU Legco member Lee Cheuk-yan told
poloff that the recent comments by Professor Wang coincided
with the agenda of Hong Kong's Commission on Strategic
Development (CSD),to which Chief Executive Tsang has
delegated responsibility for consideration of political
reform. Lee said the CSD, of which he is a member, was a
"stupid organization" whose members were hand-picked by the
HKSARG to protect the interests of Hong Kong business during
the political reform process. In addition to avoiding
election of an unacceptable Chief Executive, Lee believes the
CSD and Hong Kong's business community also want to maintain
Hong Kong's low-tax regime, which they fear a democratically
elected leadership would undermine to fund more social
welfare benefits.

Pro-Beijing Leaders: Article 23 Reasonable, Not Urgent
-------------- --------------


9. (C) On May 1, Tsang Hin-chi, Hong Kong's sole member of
the NPCSC, told the pro-Beijing "Wen Wei Po" newspaper that
he fully endorsed Professor's Wang's views and believed that
enactment of Article 23 legislation should be a prerequisite
for universal suffrage in Hong Kong. "Concerning such an
important matter as national security, it will hardly be
deemed acceptable if Article 23 legislation cannot be passed.
It will not be viable if one talks about universal suffrage
on one hand, while failing to protect national security on
the other. I believe the six conditions proposed by Wang
Zhenmin are quite reasonable." Tsang also emphasized,
however, that Hong Kong's foremost priorities should be
economic development and advancement of livelihood issues;
the timetable for action on Article 23 should be based on the
views of the Hong Kong people, and there was no urgency to
its enactment.


10. (C) BLC Vice Chair Elsie Leung also addressed the Article
23 issue in a somewhat cautious and non-committal manner.
Leung, who as Secretary for Justice managed the Article 23
legislative process in 2003, told "Wen Wei Po" that
implementation of universal suffrage required a community

HONG KONG 00001863 003 OF 003


consensus. As such, there must be coordination of not only
Article 23 but also various "other conditions" to comply with
the principle of "gradual and orderly progress" toward
democracy. She said it would be up to the HKSARG to
determine how to handle the Article 23 issue.


11. (C) BLC member and local NPC delegate Raymond Wu took a
somewhat stronger view of the importance of the Article 23
legislation, arguing that the conditions of universal
suffrage should be based on the "underlying significance" of
the legislation rather than on its actual enactment. Wu said
that "national security" is based on loyalty, and failure to
enact Article 23 legislation implies that the central
government cannot effectively exercise its sovereignty in
Hong Kong. The key to universal suffrage, he believed, was
to instill a sense of nationalism in the people of Hong Kong
so they could support a genuine exercise of sovereignty by
Beijing. That said, however, Wu told poloff that his PRC
colleagues on the BLC did not understand Hong Kong and did
not understand western concerns about democracy. Even the
Hong Kong BLC members, he claimed, had a "very immature
political level." Wu believed that the primary concern of
the central government was whether implementation of
universal suffrage in Hong Kong would lead to selection of
the "right" person as Chief Executive; whereas the U.S. and
other western countries had a long history of democracy, Hong
Kong "could not allow this kind of mistake" in its leadership
selection.

Cunningham