(Clearwisdom.net)
- Progressive Party -- Hon. Matt Robson's speech in the press conference on 18 March 2003 in front of Parliament Building, Wellington, New Zealand:
- Labour Party - Graham Kelly's speech in the press conference on 18 March 2003 in front of Parliament Building, Wellington, New Zealand
- Amnesty International -- Ced Simpson's speech in the press conference on 18 March 2003 in front of Parliament Building, Wellington, New Zealand:
1. Progressive Party -- Hon. Matt
Robson's speech in the press conference on 18 March 2003 in front of Parliament Building,
Wellington, New Zealand:
I am the Honourable Matt Robson, the part of the government Progressive-Labour government.
Obviously our chairperson can be forgiven. He obviously has not been imprisoned, because I was the Minister of Prisons. I do not recognize him, and he did not recognise me, so there we are.
What we are doing today is demonstrating that an injury to one is an injury to all. This is the slogan of the labour government. That one injury to anyone else is an injury to me.
I am here on this forecourt, you can say what you like in front of the New Zealand parliament, we do not encourage to swear or to do anything else like that, but whatever political things you want to say, agreeing with the government, disagreeing with the government, perhaps you may pick out an MP, saying I do not like that MP. No one in uniform can arrest one of us. They cannot under the law. The point is what we are defending here is the ability to express our views within our society, any of us.
What we are protesting about is that in Hong Kong, fundamental rights that should be the right of every citizen on this planet is about to be abridged and the body responsible for that and the abridgement of the right of free speech, the right of assembly, right of practise spiritual persuasion that a person has, that step and that pressure is being brought about the largest country in the world, the government in Beijing, the Republic of China. Now in New Zealand we have great respect of course for every single person in China. We want good relations; we have good relations. But we cannot have good relations if anti-democratic practises are introduced. And that is why it is so important today that the message you have brought to the New Zealand government and our Minister of Foreign Affairs is put before him.
Graham Kelly and myself will ensure the very spirit of it; every word of it will be put in front of the Minister.
At present we are told in our newspapers today that there is a great danger of illness relating to... I am not quite sure what the virus is [note: referring to SARS disease reported in the international press]. But it has flu-like symptoms, which can kill. It is very dangerous. And we are taking steps apparently though the World Health Organisation and our Public Health authorities here in New Zealand to see that our people are not infected. On a worldwide scale, we want to make sure it does not spread.
Well be we have, what is being attempted a sickness in Hong Kong, but a very important sickness that should be ripped in the bud, a very important sickness. Because if governments in one country were allowed to undertake this kind of activity against the face of worldwide opinion, which is for democracy, then we have in place a very dangerous sickness that can spread. Because other governments get encouraged, so in Pacific for instance the government of Tonga has banned the importation of a newspaper from New Zealand. We don't want it in the pacific, we don't want it in Asia, and we don't want it in Europe, Africa throughout the world.
What you are doing today is as important, no less no more, that makes sure our health throughout the world though concerted actions that keeps people safe at every level.
We wish you well, thank you for being here today. I must advise you that we had to curtail some of what we were planning, because parliament is discussing the Iraq war at 3:00pm. So all members of parliament will be there.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
2. Labour Party - Graham Kelly's speech in the press
conference on 18 March 2003 in front of Parliament Building, Wellington, New Zealand:
Good afternoon everyone and welcome to parliament, your parliament. My name is Graham Kelly. And I am a labour member of parliament.
(Hong Kong) has democratic institution, and was a model that I thought can be applied to places, like Taiwan, and people feel comfortable with it, people that I spoken o said: "we have got faith in our future and Beijing government will not let us down". When I read this (note: Article 23 Legislation proposal) that I did a month ago, it disappointed me greatly, because there is no need for it, and a lot of work has been undertaken via Beijing government... ...What it is now does is in fact self-relationships between the Hong Kong government and Beijing government with rest of democratic world. And I think it is very sad, because we have good relationships with both of the governments over many, many years, as you all know. And we have encouraged the development of democracy in China and Hong Kong, as we will continue to do it. So you are quite right to check to this measure... ...whether it is Hong Kong or New Zealand, because people's rights are too important for that. And we have seen enough of people's right has been taken away, whether it is Iraq or many other places, we see people who have been subrogated by leadership. So I want to join with you today, thank you very much for coming to parliament for expressing your views. Our Foreign Minister Hon. Phil Goff has already made his views known to the Hong Kong Administration, we object to what is happening.
So your presence today has our support, and will encourage us to continue to let the administration know that we do not agree what they are doing. You have many of your family and friends back there. It is hard for you when you see what is happening. Let us hope that something may, will happen, let they change their mind. That's our wish. And we will do everything we can as a government to ensure that will happen. Thank you very much.
3. Amnesty International - Ced Simpson's speech in the press conference on 18 March 2003 in front of Parliament Building, Wellington, New Zealand:
Thank you very much. One of the analogies I am fond of giving to the express the importance of our gathering today is:
I am told that if you put a frog into cold water and boil it up then the frog won't jump out of the pot until it is dead. If you put a frog into boiling water it will jump out straight away.
And defending human rights and fundament freedoms is a bit the same way. Often we tend to think of expression as starting with a revolution with a cu-de-face but actually most of the time the expression of basic human rights starts gradually, one step at a time. That is why it is important that the international community react to the proposals of the Peoples Republic of China's Government to get to amend article 23 of the Basic Law in Hong Kong in the way it is stated and intends to do.
Because over the last 41 years Amnesty International has had to work against the consequences of Governments using the word 'subversion' to lock people up in jail for expressing their opinions and political opinions or religious opinion. The consequences of so called subversives have been tortured, as are the people who have been tortured in the Peoples Republic of China at the moment, put up the consequences of war against subversive, where civilians are massacred and indeed are many people in the Republic of China are tortured or die as a result of the death penalty. So the concern of the people living in Hong Kong is as the Hon. Matt Robinson said and as Graham Kelly said " deserves to be, must be the concern of all of us."
When the members of Republic government announces it is going to crank down on subversion & sedition in the same way it is already clamps down on those so called acts of subversion in Mainland Chain then we have reason to be concerned.
Because every week Amnesty International members around the world take action on behalf of people who are imprisoned for example: accessing the internet people imprisoned for peacefully assembling in a public place and carrying out peaceful, spiritual or exercises, as indeed Falun Dafa adherents have over recent years.
Subversion unfortunately to the government or the Peoples Republic of China can be as simple as accessing to internet, as simple as publishing so called state secrets which maybe so called secrets as taken off from the internet. There is a very broad definition which can lead to people being repressed, being tortured, being killed for the set of freedoms we have here in New Zealand.
It is as the King said, " Justice anywhere, or injustice anywhere, or a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
[...]
I call on all you people to take the simplest action to express the concern of people here in New Zealand about what intends to be done about the Basic Law in Hong Kong.
Thank you very much.
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