Far East Economic Review 15 Jan.1988

Far   East   Economic   Review

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Far   East   Economic   Review 15   Jan.1988

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HONGKONG  

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No   place   to   hide  

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China's   jailing   of   territory's   resident   raises   human   -   rights   questions

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By   Emily   Lau   in   Hongkong  

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Sensitivity   among   residents   here   to   human   -   rights   issues   has   been   heightened   by   renewed   attempts   by   local   groups   to   secure   the   release   of   a   Hongkong   -   born   Chinese   imprisoned   in   China   for   engaging   in   "   counter   -   revolutionary   activities   and   by   a   visit   by   two   members   of   the   British   Parliament's   human   -   rights   group.  

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In   December,   a   number   of   religious   and   labour   groups   petitioned   Hong   Kong   Governor   Sir   David   Wilson   to   request   the   early   release   of   Liu   Shanqing   ,   a   35   -   year   -   old   computer   sales   engineer   who   is   serving   a   10   -   year   sentence   in   Canton   for   "   collaborating   with   other   counter   -   revolutionary   elements   to   attack   the   socialist   system   and   the   people's   democratic   dictatorship   and   to   violate   the   laws   and   regulations   of   China   ."  

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Some   members   of   the   so   -   called   Committee   for   the   Rescue   of   Liu   Shan   qing   held   a   three-day   sit-in   outside   the   Hongkong   branch   of   China's   official   Xinhua   news   agency,   Peking's   chief   representative   body   in   the   territory.  

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A   Roman   Catholic   priest,   Fr   Franco   Mella   ,   staged   a   week   -   long   hunger   strike   in   protest   against   Liu's   imprisonment   .   Liu   has   been   adopted   as   a   prisoner   of   conscience   by   Amnesty   International,   the   London   -   based   human   -   rights   group.  

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Liu,   a   graduate   of   Hongkong   University,   was   arrested   in   December   1981   while   visiting   the   families   of   jailed   Chinese   democracy   -   movement   activists   Wang   Xizhe   and   He   Qiu   .   He   was   sentenced   in   1983.   Liu   has   repeatedly   refused   Chinese   attempts   to   get   him   to   plead   guilty   to   the   charges   laid   against   him.   His   father,   63   and   in   poor   health,   last   visited   Liu   in   October   1987   ,   when   he   discovered   his   son   had   been   put   in   solitary   confinement   to   study   Marxism   Leninism   .   Liu   has   periodically   suffered   this   form   of   punishment.  

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Liu   was   by   no   means   a   leader   in   Hongkong's   own   democracy   movement,   and   the   harsh   punishment   given   him   is   seen   only   as   a   deterrent   to   others   who   would   meddle   in   mainland   politics.   The   Chinese   Government   regards   all   Hongkong   Chinese   "   compatriots   "   as   Chinese   nationals   -   even   those   who   hold   the   so   -   called   British   dependent   territories   citizens   passports,   which   are   issued   by   the   Hongkong   Government   but   are   unacceptable   to   Chinese   authorities   for   travel   to   China   by   ethnic   Chinese.   Hongkong   Chinese   travel   to   China   on   "   home   -   visit   permits   "   issued   by   mainland   authorities.  

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Questions   about   Liu's   detention   have   been   raised   in   the   British   Parliament.   The   government's   response   has   been   that   all   Hongkong   Chinese   have   limited   British   and   Chinese   nationality   and   that   since   this   is   the   case,   the   British   Government   could   not   offer   protection   to   someone   arrested   by   Chinese   authorities.  

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Some   of   Liu's   supporters   accept   that   the   British   Government   cannot   intervene   in   Liu's   case   because   ,   they   say   it   is   a   Chinese   matter   .   But   they   view   Liu's   arrest   and   detention   as   a   human   rights   issue   and   have   criticized   local   democrats   for   not   speaking   out   on   Liu's   behalf   .   They   accuse   these   people   of   focusing   narrowly   on   the   interests   of   Hongkong   and   failing   to   look   at   developments   in   their   wider   context.  

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Many   local   democrats   believe   the   fight   for   democracy   in   Hongkong   is   inevitably   linked   to   the   democracy   movement   in   China.   However,   they   say   they   have   refrained   from   speaking   out   on   the   Liu   case   because   they   do   not   want   to   be   accused   by   Peking   of   meddling   in   what   China   considers   its   internal   affairs.  

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But   the   local   democrats   agree   that   without   democracy   in   China,   Hongkong,   as   a   future   special   administrative   region   (SAR)   of   China,   will   not   enjoy   the   high   degree   of   autonomy   promised   in   the   1984   Sino   -   British   Joint   Declaration   on   Hongkong's   future.   In   the   declaration,   Britain   and   China   agreed   that   Hongkong   would   be   returned   to   Chinese   sovereignty   in   1997.  

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The   renewed   attempts   to   secure   Liu's   release   have   generated   nervousness   among   some   in   Hongkong's   pro   -   democracy   movement   who   fear   that   one   day   Peking   may   regard   their   activities   as   "   counter-   revolutionary.   "   The   Chinese   criminal   code   stipulates   that   all   Chinese   nationals,   including   those   residing   outside   China,   are   subject   to   Chinese   jurisdiction   and   so   can   be   charged   for   engaging   in   counter   -   revolutionary   activities.  

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There   are   no   reliable   statistics   on   how   many   Hongkong   Chinese   have   been   jailed   in   China,   but   a   Hongkong   Government   official   said   about   20   such   cases   have   come   to   the   government's   attention.   Most,   she   said,   involve   commercial   offences,   but   a   few   are   of   a   political   nature.   The   detainees   '   families   are   reluctant   to   speak   in   behalf   of   relatives   for   fear   of   antagonizing   Chinese   authorities.   The   Liu   case   has   demonstrated   the   vulnerability   of   Hongkong   Chinese   to   arrest   and   detention   in   China.  

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The   joint   declaration   stipulates   that   "   provisions   of   the   International   Coven   ant   on   Civil   and   Political   Rights   (ICCPR)   and   the   International   Covenant   on   Economic,   Social   and   Cultural   Rights   as   applied   to   Hongkong   shall   remain   in   force”   after   1997   .  

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However,   China   is   not   a   signatory   to   these   covenants,   and   if   it   does   not   become   one   by   1997,   it   will   have   no   obligation,   other   than   that   stated   in   the   joint   declaration,   to   implement   the   provisions   in   the   Hongkong   SAR.   A   Hongkong   Government   source   said   the   protection   offered   in   the   joint   declaration   was   meant   only   to   apply   to   Hongkong   people   residing   in   Hongkong   and   could   not   protect   Hongkong   people   when   they   are   in   China   .  

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But   whether   the   joint   declaration   really   will   provide   protection   to   Hongkong   residents   in   post   -   1997   Hongkong   is   in   doubt   .   Nihal   Jayawickrama   ,   a   Hongkong   University   law   lecturer   ,   said   that   since   Britain   has   never   ratified   an   optional   protocol   to   the   ICCPR   ,   residents   here   have   no   right   to   petition   the   UN   Human   Rights   Committee   on   alleged   infringements   of   the   covenant   .  

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The   two   MPs   from   the   British   parliament's   human   -   rights   group   ,   Clive   Soley   and   Robert   Hughes   ,   recently   conducted   a   fact   -   finding   visit   to   Hongkong   which   concluded   that   the   statements   on   human   -   rights   contained   in   the   Sino   British   joint   declaration   should   be   built   into   the   Basic   Law   .   The   Basic   Law,   being   drawn   up   by   Peking,   will   serve   as   a   mini   -   constitution   for   the   Hongkong   SAR.   The   MPs   also   argued   that   the   international   human   -   rights   covenants   should   be   made   subject   to   jurisdiction   in   Hongkong's   courts.   To   do   so,   the   MPs   said,   they   must   be   incorporated   into   local   law.

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