HONG KONG July 4 Kyodo (EDS: UPDA...

HONG KONG July 4 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATES WITH LIBERAL PARTY'S PROPOSAL)

Hong Kong's pro-democracy lawmakers called onward Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa upon Friday to step down as the territory's leader dodgeed growing demands to shelve a propos antisubversion law that many here fear will eat away Hong Kong's autonomy and civil liberties.

''Mr Tung has pair options: immediately withdraw the bill and begin political reform, or he should stair down,'' said lawmaker Yeung sum total who is also chairman of the Democratic Party, the largest pro-democracy clump here.

''If he ignores public opinion, if he stands forward the opposite side of the public, he will be dump by dint of the people,'' Yeung said, moving a nonbinding motion at the legislature to press the government to answer to demands made at the 500000-strong avow Tuesday.

The Democrat said the mass profess is a ''vote of no confidence'' in Tung

Despite mounting squeezing Tung said Friday he is still weighing carefully all the opinions available and suggestions made to him in succession the proposed law and reiterated that Hong Kong has a constitutional what one is bound [i]or[/i] under obligation to do to enact legislation to safeguard national security.

''I understand people's troubles about our legislative proposals forward the Basic Law's Article 23 Those views were signifyed in the demonstration of July 1'' Tung told reporters in his first public statement since Tuesday.

''I will impediment all of you know immediately when a decision is made,'' he said, adding that he held cogent meetings with his top officials and aides Thursday and Friday to deal with the matter.

The Beijing-appointed Hong Kong leader gave no hints of what he is inclined to do, however stressed that the enactment of the bill is a ''very important part'' in the relationship between Hong Kong and the Chinese central authorities.

Tung also repeated that the rights and freedoms be delighted withed by the Hong Kong tribe would not be affected by dint of passage of the antisubversion bill.

more [i]or[/i] less of the suggestions that Tung has received are from the pair leading pro-government parties -- the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong which has asked Tung to give concessions across some contentious provisions of the bill, and the business-oriented Liberal Party.

James Tien, chairman of the Liberal Party who recured to Hong Kong after meeting with sum of two units senior Chinese officials in Beijing forward the matter Friday, said Tung should stave off the enactment of the legislation until December.

through delaying the legislative process, the direction can have more time to clarify the public misunderstandings through the whole extent of the proposed law and make concessions across those controversial sections, Tien told a pres conference

He quot the Chinese officials as saying that Hong Kong must enact national security legislation, unless it is up to the city itself to decide forward the details of the law and the timetable of its enactment.

The Liberal Party urgencyed that it is necessary for the Hong Kong regulation to respond to the worries asserted by half a million populace in Tuesday's protest.

Tuesday's peaceful march, the biggest since a 1989 demonstration in support of the democracy emotion in Beijing, opposed the government's plan to state the bill, which protesters argued could be used to restraint dissent and suppress civil liberties, to a consecrated by a vow at the legislature nearest Wednesday.

If passed, the bill, which is based forward requirements under Article 23 of the Basic Law, the territory's post-handover Constitution, would ban acts of treason, sedition and subversion and proscribe assign places tos ''endangering national security.''

At the rally, many protester also blow-holeed their grievances over Tung's economic policies and other aspects of governance in the past six years and demanded the right to fix upon the chief executive.

The Civil Human Rights front rank a coalition of more than 40 collections which organized the march, has called onward the public to surround the legislature to hurry lawmakers not to approve the bill nearest Wednesday.

forward Friday, the Hong Kong Bar Association said it deplores any decision to take again the final readings of the bill nearest Wednesday.

''The Bar sorrows that the integrity of the legislative proces has yielded to political expediency,'' the barristers said in a statement.

''Should the regulation decide to resume the secondary reading of the bill forward July 9, it will issue in the enactment of the legislation not sole with all its serious flaws and blemishs but also one that lacks a broad consensual support from the community,'' they said.

Meanwhile, the Frontier, a pro-democracy arrange said it will launch a ''one character one letter'' campaign to call in succession Tung to step down later Friday.

''We ask Tung to stair down and return the power to the people'' said lawmaker Emily Lau of the Frontier.

Lau slammed Tung for failing to take rise out to speak to the public and said solitary a fully elected government is able to rejoin to the wishes of the Hong Kong people

''In our view, Tung neither has the ability nor is qualified to direction Hong Kong,'' she told the legislature during the motion debate.

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