Hong Kong's Public Opinion: Hong Kong Government Continuing to Enact Article 23 Will Cause Social Turbulence (Photo)

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Article 23 legislation induced Hong Kong people's resentment; residents took to the streets to protest on July 1 (AFP)

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Even though the Hong Kong Government made some concessions on the national security bill, they failed to win acceptance from more than 40 organisations that sponsored the large scale march on July 1 against Article 23. Many believe the amendments that the Hong Kong Government made are not enough to resolve the concerns of the Hong Kong people. They are asking the Hong Kong Government to delay or stop relevant provisions so residents have more time to discuss.

A spokesperson from the Human Rights Front said that the Hong Kong Government has failed to seriously consider the demands of the 500,000 Hong Kong residents marching on the streets and has forcibly gone for the second reading of the national security bill on July 9. It is totally ignoring Hong Kong people's opinions.

He said if the Hong Kong Government insists on passing the security bill, it will only serve to antagonise the public's protest. They did not exclude the possibility to initiate an even larger protest to force the Hong Kong Government to stop the legislation.

In addition, the Hong Kong Reporters Association, the Hong Kong Democratic Party and several religious organisations all expressed that they were against the Hong Kong government rushing the second reading of the Article 23 legislation on July 9. To express their strong resentment to the government's decision, they called upon their members to go to LegCo to protest on July 9. Hong Kong scholars think that even though the Hong Kong Government has made three amendments, people's resentment is too high and the central government refuses to put a date on enacting the security law: if the Hong Kong Government ignores 500,000 people's voice and continues to hold the second reading of Article 23, it will only deepen Hong Kong people's resentment. It could result in more social turbulence and even loss of control.

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