06/01/2001

The Australian foreign minister, Alexander Downer, has called on Hong Kong to preserve its freedoms. He made the remark when responding to a question on the government's move to study overseas anti-xx laws, raising concerns that such legislation could be used to target the Falun Gong. Mr Downer, who is on a brief visit to the territory, says Australia doesn't have anti-xx laws. He points out that his country has a body of legislation which provides for the government to take action in the event of civil disturbances and threats to a civil society. Mr Downer believes the case of Hong Kong is similar to that of Australia.

[Downer] Hong Kong has very much the same legal tradition as Australia and I'm not entirely sure but, as I understand it, the Hong Kong government is studying the present law to see whether it's adequate to deal with any concerns that may be expressed about the stability of civil society. But obviously the real point here is the point about Hong Kong's freedoms. I mean, Hong Kong has, for a long time, been one of the freest places in the world and the whole of the international community has admired and respected that and that remains the case. That has certainly been the case since the handover at the end of June 1997. So we hope that whatever laws are introduced, they won't in any way detract from the great tradition of freedom in Hong Kong because if freedom is diminished, then Hong Kong will be diminished.