Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-12-19-Speech-4-134"
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"en.20021219.7.4-134"2
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"Madam President, one country, two systems. It sounds almost too good to be true for Hong Kong. Article 23 of the Basic Law, however, is a potential time bomb under all of this. This article requests the drafting of laws against a whole range of serious crimes against the government of the People’s Republic of China. The Hong Kong authorities have embarked upon the implementation of this highly controversial article at a most inopportune moment, and in a manner that lacks transparency. That is why the residents of Hong Kong came out on the streets en masse at the beginning of this week. Does Hong Kong really give Peking reason to fear treason, secession, unrest, subversive activities, theft of state secrets or dangerous foreign political activities or connections? No! Yet the Chinese authorities are insisting on the implementation of Article 23. Mark you, this is an article that was given its current form only after the bloodbath in Peking's Tienanmen Square . Article 23 therefore reflects Chinese Communist paranoia, both past and present. The same can be said of Hong Kong’s citizens’ fears then and now. While Hong Kong is going through a difficult economic period, Peking is making matters worse with its crippling political uncertainty. Even the business sector in Hong Kong is reacting negatively, and that speaks volumes. It reflects the broad dissatisfaction amongst the populace with a desultory consultation process on the legal implementation of Article 23. What is lacking is the publication of the exact draft laws. The Council and Commission must therefore address the powers that be in Hong Kong and Peking on this matter quickly, as the European Union is serious about maintaining the principle of ‘one country, two systems’ for Hong Kong."@en1
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