NYT: Hong Kong Surveillance Law Passes

[DeepModem Mom]

Hong Kong Surveillance Law Passes
By KEITH BRADSHER
Published: August 6, 2006

HONG KONG, Aug. 6 — Pro-Beijing lawmakers approved legislation here today giving broad authority to the police to conduct covert surveillance, including wiretapping phones, bugging homes and offices and monitoring e-mail.

The bill passed the 60-member Legislative Council on a vote of 32 to 0 soon after pro-democracy lawmakers walked out of the chamber in protest early this morning. The Democratic Party and its allies had tried to introduce nearly 200 amendments to the bill through four days of marathon debates, but all were defeated or ruled out of order.

Ambrose S.K. Lee, the secretary for security, welcomed the legislation, saying it was necessary to fight crime. “I wish to assure the residents of Hong Kong that the law now is a good balance between effective law enforcement on the one hand and the protection of privacy on the other,” he said.

But James To, the Democratic Party lawmaker who is the chairman of the legislature’s security committee, said the law gave too much discretion to the police and to the chief executive. He contended that the law would make it too easy for the government to monitor political opponents.

He objected to the law’s broad authorization of covert surveillance for the sake of public security and to the creation of a three-judge panel chosen by the chief executive to review such surveillance....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/world/asia/06cnd-hong.html

[rfranklin]

1. Just like the Bush administration...

They're just like all the other authoritarian regimes.

[DeepModem Mom]

2. The situation sounded SOOOO familiar! nt

[smirkymonkey]

5. It's the New World Order.

It's not just us imperialistic Americans any longer. My tinfoil hat is getting tighter and tighter.

[w4rma]

3. The Chinese government is scary. (nt)

[ixion]

4. scary, just like BushCo

:grr:

[xchrom]

6. sigh --

next -- the arrests.

[Vidar]

7. Just like the US.