Joint statement on
Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women. The government is trying to paper over this contradiction, to present
Hong Kong accord the trappings of sex equality before the world, while in fact it perverts the principle to its own ends. It goes without saying that we cannot accept the resulting
On September 26, 1984, the governments of China and Britain signed an
"equal employment law." The governagreement to restore Chinese sovereignty over the British colony of ment's draft law offers nothing to women, but instead opens the way to
Hong Kong will become a Special Administrative discrimination than more
Our ever.
Region of China, with a large measure of internal autonomy.
conclusion: This law must be absolutely it system and social gaines that not be practiced en scrapped.
The society that we envision will not prescribe work according to sex roles.
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and that Hong Kong's
Men and women will both have the right previous capitalist system and life style shall remain unchanged for 50 to work. Each individual will be able to lead a life in which she or he can
British rule over Hong Kong dates back to the 1842 Treaty of Nanrealize their own potential. This is the king, which ended the first of the infamous Opium Wars that Britain meaning of true equality.
fought to force China's Qing dynasty to open the country to British
Regarding the drafting of an equal opportunity law, our demands are as
A second piece of territory was taken by the British under the 1860 follows:
Convention of Peking, and the largest part was seized in 1898, when
- The law must include penalties and ban the Chinese government was forced to grant the British a 99-year lease on all discrimination in recruitment, hiring, the area known as the New Territories.
promotions, training, employee benefits,
That lease expires on June 30, 1997. The government of the People's retirement and termination of employ-
Republic of China (PRC) rejected British calls for an extension of the ment.
- A body that is independent from the
Of Hong Kong's 5 million inhabitants, 98 percent are Chinese.
government with the power to provide
The following "joint statement on the draft agreement between the speedy and effective redress to victims of the UK (United Kingdom) government on the discrimination must be created.
future of Hong Kong" was published by the Hong Kong Trotskyists.
- Article 3, paragraph 1 of the Labor
The statement was issued October 12 by the publications October
Standards Law, which bans discrimin-
Review and Combat News Monthly and by the Revolutionary Marxist ation, must be amended to include sex discrimination.
The translation from the Chinese is by the statement's authors.
- The Labor Standards Law must be amended to include men under the restrictions work and work on overtime during holidays and the ban on late-night work now applied to women.
Finally, we would like to note that there are many changes that will have to be effected before Japan can achieve a truly equal society. Some of the issues that must be dealt with are sex discrimination in education in which, for example, home economics is a required subject for girls only,
"Turkish bath"
massage parlors and the many other permutations of the sex industry, etc. The fact is that there are more varieties of sex discrimination
Japanese prevalent in society than we can enumerate here.
Even more important than fulfillment of the Japanese government's pledge to ratify the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women by
1985 is the elimination of the belief in woman as an inferior, weak being and the adoption by the government of a truly effective policy sex discrimagainst ination. This is our earnest desire.
We believe that the attainment of a truly equal society is the most important thing to ensure that humanity will survive. For the sake of freedom, equality and peace, we will continue our women's movement.
International Viewpoint 25 February 1985
Hong Kong on July 1, 1997.
As of that date, the years." opium sellers. PRC government and 1. The decision of the Chinese government to recover sovereignty over Hong Kong is of historically progressive significance. Over 140 years of British colonial rule is to be gone forever. Therefore, the recovery of sovereignty over Hong Kong the Chinese government should be affirmed and supported by all the people of China (including the people of Hong 2. The Chinese people have always considered Hong Kong a part of Chinese terrthree unequal treaties that Britain forced the Quing court to sign must be unconditiorially abrogated; the British imperialists and their colonial regime must unconditionally withdraw from Hong Kong.
the Chinese government agreed with the British imperialists to recover sovereignty over option of the no hit Hong Kong which leased the New Territories, but is also in practice recognition of the legality of British rule of Hong Kong based on the unequal treaties. This is a serious political mistake. 3. In fact, the British imperialists are not willing to return Hong Kong. In the Introduction of the White Paper published by the UK government, government admitted that it had tried to persuade the Chinese government to allow its continued occupation of Hong Kong. When this attempt failed, the British, under the pretext to "maintain the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong" and through secret negotiations, sought to intervene in Hong Kong's internal affairs after the return of sovereignty.
strategy of the British imperialists is to have the Chinese government state in detail in the Joint Declaration policies that can extend British influence and economic interests. The British imperialists further demand that the Chinese government sign "a legally binding international agreement" to commit itself to the British in the practice of the related policies. 4. The British government is obviously extorting the Chinese government with the condition of returning sovereignty over Hong Kong in order that Britain, after it is obliged to return sovereignty over Hong Kong, can have the legal basis for widely interfering in Hong Kong's internal affairs and maintaining certain economic privileges.
The British government at the same time threatens the Hong Kong people
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HONG KONG -
present allows
Britain internal sovereignty.
international an
Annexes, its country's the right to affairs of China.
CCP in but also
Hong milt policies to and omie of the
RE Kong nandir
Kong oppression.
to figh get ric against.
ment uses the is to concede and stability and pretext to and limited hood i f the Chinese the opporgrasp
• dama
13.
Political of the widens.
the continuation of the capitalist systern without change means in effect defense of the monopoly and
• of the exploitation by the established interests.
For the labouring people who constitute the great majority of the population, the policy of the Chinese government to defople of end the capitalists will make it more difficult for them to get rid of the oppression and exploitation.
Joint Declaration and the Annexes that
10. We consider that the aim of the Chinviolate the principle of sovereignty and ese government's recovery of sovereignty that breach the interests of the Chinese must be to assist the Hong Kong labour-
(including Hong Kong) people.
ing people to obtain liberation. Therefore, the Chinese government, at the same
Hong Kong, should assist the Hong Kong
Thousands of people gathered in Peking's affairs.
been practising colonial rule
Kong, British
20
Hong
Tien An Men Square on April 1, 1976, to compeople in the convening of a generally memorate the death of Prime Minister Chou elected Hong Kong General Assembly so
They were soon joined by other Peking that the Hong Kong people have the full ment's policies, and for several days the crowds right to decide on how to recover sover-
On April 5, 1976, the government ordered and carry out various social police to remove wreaths and posters from the angry crowd gathered, swelling to this way, the aid of the Chinese more than 100,000 at its height.
the day, demonstrators battled police trying to people and the mobilization of the Hong clear the square. Thousands were assaulted and
Kong masses will force British imper-
B. Demand that the Chinese government assist the Hong Kong people to convene a generally elected, full-powered General Assembly, recover sovereignty as soon as possible, and practise democratic self-rule of the Hong Kong people. C. Compel the Chinese government to at once carry out radical democratic changes, abolish one-party dictatorship bureaucratic privileges, practice socialist democracy and legal system, and return the government to the people.
We also appeal to the Hong Kong people to: A. Organize and take the initiative to conLIBERATION THEOLOGY.
vene a generally elected and full-powered Hong Kong General Assembly, end col onial rule, and democratically elect a self rule government. B. Actively start the discussion on the drafting of the Basic Law, strive for the democratic enactment of the Basic Law by the Hong Kong people, and realize the democratic rule of Hong Kong by the Hong Kong people. C. Be closely concerned with the political economic and social developments in China, join forces with the people in the mainland, and struggle together for the practice of socialist democracy in China.
for liberation. If not they will almost certainly not be understood.
Q. Why does the Church react so negatively to liberation theology?
A. I cannot give you a definitive answer. But I would like to underline certain aspects. The response from Rome is not wholly negative; but it is mainly negative. Subjectively speaking, there is a real anxiety on the part of the Vatican to safeguard the integrity of the faith. But the way that this anxiety is expressed and the positions which flow from this demonstrate, in my view, a misunderstanding of what liberation theology is all about.
This misunderstanding is very likely