Hong Kong's new government gave police discretionary powers Friday to prevent or break up demonstrations and meetings on the grounds of "national security," provoking an outcry from civil rights advocates and legal specialists.
The new guidelines allow the police commissioner and other top officers to refuse permission for a protest if it is deemed to threaten the "territorial integrity" of China - by advocating independence for Taiwan or Tibet, for example.The police may also consider, among other things, whether an act is likely to cause an imminent breach of peace. The new guidelines elaborate on stricter public protest laws enacted July 1, when Hong Kong switched from British to Chinese rule.
Paul Harris, chairman of the legal watchdog group Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor, said the new rules contradict international law definitions of "threats to national security," as well as Hong Kong's miniconstitution, which promises to uphold the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
"The direct test for threats to national security should be whether there is an intention to overthrow or destabilize the govern-ment by force or threat of force. When you read these guidelines, there is nothing at all about" violence, Harris said.
A spokeswoman for Democratic Party leader Martin Lee, who lost his legislative seat July 1 when Beijing replaced the elected council with an appointed Legislature, denounced the new rules as "totally unnecessary restrictions on the previous right to demonstrate."
The spokeswoman also objected to the rule that police will be asked to consider national security and breach of peace, "among other things," when banning demonstrations.