The National Security (Legislative Provisions) Bill was entirely consistent with the "One Country, Two Systems" principal and international human rights standards, a spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government said Thursday.

Speaking in response to a motion passed by the Senate of Australia on Article 23 of the Basic Law, the spokesman said, "The HKSAR has a constitutional duty to legislate on its own to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law. All our proposals are entirely consistent with human rights protected by the Basic Law."

The bill provides that all its provisions must be interpreted, applied and enforced in accordance with Chapter III of the Basic Law, which mandates strict compliance with international standards on rights and freedoms, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), according to the spokesman.

The bill will not undermine fundamental rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents, he added.

He emphasized that there was no question of extending mainland laws or concepts on national security to the HKSAR.

The bill has undergone over 100 hours of open and detailed scrutiny in the Legislative Council of the HKSAR. In July 2003, the HKSAR government decided to defer the resumption of the second reading of the bill, pending further public consultation on the foundation of the bill and the amendments proposed by the government.

The government will continue to listen to the views of the community, the spokesman said.

Under Article 23 of the Basic Law, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets, prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the region, and prohibit political organizations or bodies of the region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies.

(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2003)