HK,Tibet face ``chilling similarities'' under China (Reuter)

HONG KONG, June 24 (Reuter) - A human rights group says there are "chilling similarities" between how China plans to take control of Hong Kong and its "occupation" of Tibet.

"The people of Hong Kong, like the people of Tibet before them, face absorption into mainland China without an act of self-determination or consultation," the Free Tibet Campaign said on Tuesday, with Hong Kong's handover just a week away.

Although there is scant outward similarity between the properous, capitalist territory and the impoverished Himalayan region, the British-based group said Hong Kong and Tibet shared a promise of autonomy from Beijing.

Hong Kong, a bustling free port of 6.4 million people, reverts to Chinese rule at midnight on June 30 after 156 years as a British colony.

Beijing has promised Hong Kong a large degree of autonomy for at least 50 years, with the territory to handle all matters except foreign affairs and defence.

But, the group said in a statement, if Tibet's history is any indication, China's "one country, two systems" pledge may be "nothing more than a polite fiction that belies the deprivation of human rights and increased military controls."

In the 1950s, the committee overseeing Tibet's integration into communist China vowed not to interfere with its political system and to respect religious freedom, the group says.

"Tibet has since been treated much like a colony, with large-scale resettlement of Chinese and the imposition of Chinese laws, language and doctrine," it says.

The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, fled into exile in northern India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against the communist occupation.

Beijing is set to take back Hong Kong without firing a shot.

On July 1, Hong Kong's democratically elected Legislative Council will be replaced by a Beijing-backed provisional body.

Future leader Tung Chee-hwa has prompted concern with plans to toughen laws on protests and overseas political funding.

The amendments, drawn up by Tung on a cue from Beijing, would empower police to ban protests on the grounds of "national security" or threats to China's territorial integrity.

Interpretation of what would constitute national security is not known but the changes to the territory's existing laws will have an impact on free speech, Free Tibet Campaign said, adding that Beijing has a long history of clampdowns in Tibet.

Other human rights groups and western governments have been critical of Beijing for its stern response to those seeking autonomy or independence for Tibet. China dismisses the criticism as interference in its internal affairs.

This month, the Tibet Daily newspaper said 98 people were jailed in the region last year for endangering public security.

Those jailed included "14 criminals who incited monks to shout anti-Beijing slogans, organised illegal demonstrations, smashed a police station, attacked government officials, stubbornly followed the Dalai Lama clique and tried in vain to split the motherland," the newspaper said.

There have been sporadic and sometimes violent protests in Tibet in recent years against the Chinese presence, with many monks and nuns jailed for expressing their views.