Published by: World Tibet Network News Tuesday, December 30, 1997

31 December 1997

HONG KONG, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Hong Kong Internet surfers and providers will not be effected by communist China's sweeping new controls on the world-wide web, Anthony Wong, director general of the territory's telecommunications, said on Tuesday.

"Hong Kong will regulate its own Internet ... and China has its own regulations. The regulations in Hong Kong will not apply in China and visa versa," he told Reuters.

Wong said the Internet and telecommunications were covered by the "one country, two systems" doctrine adopted when Britain ceded Hong Kong to China in July, ending 156 years of colonial rule.

Under that doctrine, Hong Kong and its 6.5 million people will enjoy a large degree of autonomy for 50 years, protecting their fiercely capitalistic ways.

China clamped controls on the Internet on Tuesday, warning that the network was being used to leak state secrets and to spread "harmful information."

Some Hong Kong users have set up Internet pages criticizing China for alleged human rights abuses or policies on sensitive political issues such as Tibet.

Internet users are covered by the same rights to freedom of speech as the media in Hong Kong. The main regulations governing the Internet were laid out in an anti-crime bill passed a few years ago and focus on computer hackers, Wong said.

"Hong Kong has its own system, regulating its own Internet usage," Wong said.