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Shock reversal for Hong Kong vote
From CNN Senior Asia Correspondent Mike Chinoy
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- In a remarkable about-face, Hong Kong's leader has announced he will delay a vote on a controversial security law which prompted protests by hundreds of thousands last week. The anti-subversion bill outlaws subversion, treason, sedition and other crimes against the state, as well as imposing life prison sentences for some offenses. Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa announced major modifications to the bill over the weekend, softening some of the areas that were of greatest public concern but still insisted the legislature would proceed with a vote on the bill this week. However, a senior member of Tung's executive council resigned his post Sunday, leaving the chief executive without enough votes to ensure the bill would pass. Pro-government Liberal Party leader James Tien had insisted that public opinion made it clear the people in Hong Kong wanted the vote delayed. Tung was prompted to hold an emergency meeting Sunday night, after which he released a statement saying he would delay the vote. "We have decided, after detailed deliberations, to defer the resumption of the second reading of the bill and to step up our efforts to explain the amendments to the community in the coming days," the statement, released Monday, said. Tung made it clear, however, that the anti-subversion measures will eventually have to be passed. Hong Kong "has a constitutional duty to legislate for the protection of national security," he wrote. "Upon enactment of the legislation, the government and the community can then work together to revitalize the economy." The decision to delay the vote also comes before a major protest planned for Wednesday outside the legislative council, when the body was to begin debating the bill. It was unclear whether Tung's announcement would prevent the demonstration or simply embolden the pro-democracy camp to push for even greater concessions. State secretsThe modifications Tung made to the bill did address some of the demonstrators' key concerns, including the removal of a provision to allow the Hong Kong government to ban local groups affiliated with those proscribed in mainland China. The original bill had also given police the power to conduct searches without obtaining a warrant in national security cases, but that too was removed. The third major change related to laws governing the disclosure of state secrets. The bill had prohibited someone accused of the crime to mount a defense saying the disclosure was in the public interest, but that was changed to allow it. The change has ramifications for journalists who publish confidential documents, believing it is in the public interest to do so. An undercurrent to the protests against Article 23 is the broader level of discontent with Tung himself and his style of governing, which many feel is aloof and autocratic. He has been criticized for mismanaging key issues, including the economy and the SARS epidemic. The concessions may put Tung in a weakened position, emboldening protesters to step up their efforts, but it also raises questions about how the central authorities in Beijing will view the leader, who still has four more years left in his term.
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