HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong has unveiled a planned anti-subversion law that rights groups fear could pose the most serious threat to civil liberties since this former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa told reporters Tuesday that the planned law was necessary for national security.
"Our proposal would not undermine in any way the existing human rights and civil liberties enjoyed by Hong Kong people, nor will our existing ways of life be affected," he told reporters.
Concerned that Hong Kong will be used as a base by foreign forces to subvert the mainland, Beijing has put intense pressure on the city in recent months to draft the legislation.
But pro-democracy circles are dead against it, saying it could be used against anyone China or Hong Kong's Beijing-backed government finds objectionable, such as political dissidents and religious groups like the Falun Gong movement.
The scope of the new law and whether it will impinge on Hong Kong's wide-ranging freedoms will test the high degree of autonomy China promised the territory after the 1997 handover, political observers say.
Hong Kong is required under Article 23 of its post-handover constitution to enact a law banning any acts of subversion, treason, sedition and secession against China.
But wary of the disquiet it would cause both in Hong Kong and overseas in the first few sensitive years after the handover, the government chose not to present it until now.
The government has opened the proposal to public consultation for three months, after which it will finalize draft legislation. It is not clear when it would become law.
Government-sponsored bills invariably win easy passage in Hong Kong's legislature as the chamber is dominated by pro-Beijing lawmakers.
Under the proposal, those found guilty of acts of treason, secession, subversion or sedition could be imprisoned for life. Those found guilty of inciting violence or public disorder can be jailed for up to seven years.
A publication will be deemed seditious if it incited people to commit treason, secession or subversion and those found guilty could be jailed for seven years and fined HK$500,000 (US$64,000). The mere expression of views, or reports and commentaries on views or acts, will not be criminalized, unless they incited others to violence.
But rights groups still fear the proposed legislation. "It could criminalize free speech. If someone should continually criticize the central government or seek for a vindication of the 1989 pro-democracy movement, would officials interpret it as violating the law?" said Rose Wu of the Hong Kong Christian Institute.
"Any religious expression, criticism can be targeted."
Shouting slogans and brandishing banners, over a dozen activists marched to government headquarters in Hong Kong's Central district early Tuesday, accusing the government of trying to stifle freedoms under the pretext of enacting a law to prevent subversion against mainland China.
"Civil rights cannot be stripped off," they chanted.
Most Hong Kong people, however, were vague about the plans.
"Would it curb public criticism of the government and Beijing?" asked a Hong Kong resident who would identify herself only as Mrs. Chan. "I think it is meant only to silence pro-democracy people."