Russ Feingold: “I'd like to take a few minutes this morning to call attention to recent disturbing trends with regard to democracy and…”

“I'd like to take a few minutes this morning to call attention to recent disturbing trends with regard to democracy and civil liberties in Hong Kong. As you know, Hong Kong recently marked 5 years under the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China. When the territory reverted from British to Chinese control in 1997, China's communist rulers in Beijing promised to respect its autonomy for a period of 50 years under the so-called ``One Country, Two Systems'' formula. They also agreed Hong Kong would move toward direct elections by 2007. At the same time, however, Article 23 of the so-called Basic Law that became Hong Kong's new constitution required that the territory adopt legislation prohibiting ``treason, secession, sedition or subversion'' against the Chinese Government in Beijing, as well as ``theft of state secrets.'' The Hong Kong Bar Association, among others, did not believe new legislation was necessary, since existing Hong Kong laws were sufficient to deal with legitimate national security concerns. But Beijing felt otherwise. When Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Vice Premier Qian Qichen traveled to Hong Kong in July to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the handover, they reportedly made clear to Tung Chee-Hwa, their hand-picked chief executive, that they wanted an anti-subversion statute adopted without further delay. Three weeks ago, Tung's administration obliged, unveiling a plan for new legislation to implement Article 23.”