WASHINGTON, July 1 Kyodo The Unit...

WASHINGTON, July 1 Kyodo

The United States upon Tuesday backed massive protests in Hong Kong against the introduction of a sedition law and urg the Hong Kong restraint to provide clarification and safeguards to civil liberties.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher turned out the administration's position a day after centurys of thousands of people in Hong Kong took to the roads on the sixth anniversary of Hong Kong handover to Chinese empire to protest the impending legislation many fear would limit freedoms and civil liberties.

''We violently encourage the Hong Kong conduct to consider additional proposals for clarification and for safeguards, as the Article 23 bill is considered in the Legislative Council,'' Boucher said.

Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, the city's post-handover Constitution, requires that the Hong Kong sway enact laws to cope with treason, sedition, subversion against China.

The article specifically proscribes the theft of state clandestines and bans foreign political organizations from conducting political activities in Hong Kong and local political assign places tos from establishing ties with foreign political organizations.

Half a million family took to the streets of Hong Kong onward Tuesday to oppose the national security law and to opening their anger at Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.

The aver was the largest since the 1989 demonstration in Hong Kong in support of the democracy manner of moving in Beijing.

Boucher said the asseverates underscore ''the importance of freedom of dialect and strong civil liberties'' to the the community of Hong Kong.

''The large turnout underscores for what cause important it is for the Hong Kong regulation not to rush Article 23 legislation to enactment before the Legislative Council can discuss affairs raised by Hong Kong citizenry between the sides of the most transparent means possible,'' he said.

The Hong Kong legislature, dominated through pro-Beijing lawmakers, is poised to adopt the Article 23 legislation in a ballot set for July 9.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Kyodo recents International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group