Dear European Friends of Falun Gong,
The Private Secretary has been asked by the Queen to thank you for your correspondence which has been received by Buckingham Palace, and to say that the enclosed reply is sent to you on her behalf.
LETTER FROM THE FOREIGN & COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
19th December 2002
Dear European Friends of Falun Gong,
Re: Article 23 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong:
I wrote to you on 1 November on behalf of the Foreign Secretary in response to your letter 8 October about Article 23 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong SAR. Since sending that letter I have also been asked to reply to an identical letter you sent to Her Majesty the Queen, also on 8 October. There have been some developments since my earlier letter on which I can now bring you up to date. I apologise that I did not do so earlier.
We have continued to follow developments closely. You may have seen that in a statement issued on 18 November, Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said that this would be the most sensitive piece of legislation for Hong Kong since the handover and we therefore welcomed the wide consultation process currently being undertaken by the SAR Government on their outline proposals. Mr Rammell also said that, as a co-signatory to the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong, we have a responsibility to ensure that the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Joint Declaration are maintained. Any new legislation must be compatible with these rights and freedoms and with maintaining Hong Kong’s autonomy.
Our Consulate-General in Hong Kong also issued a statement on 18 November which set out some of our main concerns about the proposals. I enclose a copy. We referred specifically to the provisions concerning the proscription of organisations, which are of concern to Falun Gong. We have, however, noted that the Hong Kong Secretary for Justice has previously said that this legislation would not be aimed at imposing sanctions on any group such as the Falun Gong.
The Foreign Secretary and Mr Rammell met Martin Lee, Chairman of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong on 19 November, during his visit to London. He outlined his concerns about the proposals. The Foreign Secretary and Mr Rammell assured him that this issue was a priority for them. Mr Rammell also made the Government’s views clear to Anthony Leung, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary on 25 November, during the latter’s visit to London.
We will continue to watch developments closely.
Yours sincerely
Ian Bailey
China Hong Kong Department.
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