Beijing, July 06: China today backed the watered down draft anti-subversion bill of Hong Kong but said the legislation should now be passed as scheduled on July nine as it is a prerequisite to safeguard national security. "The way in which the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has been doing is appropriate and I believe the public recognises and accepts it," quoted an unnamed official at the National People`s Congress (NPC), China`s parliament as saying. The official backed HKSAR chief executive Tung Chee-Hwa`s moves to amend the bill but said the legislation should now be passed. The official expressed his hope that members of the HKSAR legislators and the public would "consider for the fundamental and long-term interests of Hong Kong and actively support and cooperate with the HKSAR government to complete the legislative process on schedule." The comments from Beijing came hours after Hong Kong`s embattled leader, Tung announced that he has decided to make three major amendments to the bill, referred to as article 23.

Fearing that Hong Kong, a former British colony, could be used as a base for subversive activities against it, Beijing has been pushing Tung to enact the national security legislation. Under article 23 of Hong Kong`s post-1997 handover constitution, approved by Beijing and London, the city is required to enact a national security law to ban treason, sedition, subversion and the theft of state secrets. However, it does not set out a timetable for enacting such a law.

Bureau Report