Organized by the Hong Kong Coalition for National Security Legislation, the rally was held amid the government consultation on the proposal to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR). The consultation will end on December 24, 2002.

The participants of the rally sang patriotic songs and the slogan of "national security: everyone's responsibility." Representatives from various circles made speeches at the rally, expressing their support for the legislation.

Tsang Yok Sing, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong, said it is necessary and reasonable to enact a law to safeguard national security.

He expressed his support for the legislation and he believed that the SAR government would extensively solicit opinions of the people and ensure that the law finally passed would comply with the Basic Law Article 23, meet the demand of protecting human rights and freedom, and win the support of the community.

Tsang Hin Chi, president of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong, said that as a special administrative region of China, Hong Kong must enact the law to safeguard national security as soon as possible.

As a member of the business community of Hong Kong, Tsang expressed his hope for economic prosperity of Hong Kong and noted that a stable business environment is an important consideration for investors.

The implementation of the Basic Law Article 23 will offer more effective guarantee for social stability of Hong Kong, create a peaceful and favorable environment for investors, and boost the economic recovery, he said.

The rally drew enthusiastic participation of local people and some 40,000 people attended the rally, as against their estimate of 10,000, according to the organizer.

(Xinhua News Agency December 23, 2002)