letters@scmp.com : Enacting Article 23

from:		Jean-Christophe Clement
to:		Letters , Mike Rowse
date:		20 December 2017 at 06:41
subject:		Enacting Article 23

I refer to Mike Rowse’s opinion piece published on Sunday, December 17^th, 2017, where he proposes that the best chance for Hong Kong to get a favourable outcome on Article 23 is for us to draft it and set the terms… before Bejing does.
I believe he is entirely correct.

Here is the mandate: “The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region, and to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies.”

The treason, secession, subversion bits need to be toned-down so they will not be abused by Beijing. Similarly, the “ties for foreign political organizations or bodies” is too broad and therefore could encroach on freedom of movement and speech. Here’s my suggestion as to the spirit of what it could look like:

“Any act of treason, secession, or subversion against the Central People's Government through violent means or explicit incitement to use violent means, or theft of state secrets, are prohibited. Foreign political organizations or bodies are prohibited from conducting political activities in the Region. Political organizations or bodies of the Region are prohibited to establish formal ties with foreign political organizations or bodies.”

I would say it would be hard for anyone to argue for violence and formal ties. Yet if Beijing refused such a formulation, it would make their real intentions plain for all to see…

JC Clement

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About sedition laws in general, I'll let you ponder on the following:

"What is democracy if not a plot to change the power in place?"