Hong Kong indefinitely postpones anti-subversion law

Hong Kong has indefinitely postponed the introduction of Article 23, a controversial anti-subversion law, CNN reported on Friday.

Critics of the proposed law had slammed Article 23 saying it would restrict basic civil rights.

When the proposal was mooted there were widespread street protests.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Che-hwa told a news conference: "We will consult the public again and before that we will not legislate."

Tung, however, said his government had no fixed timetable for re-introducing the bill. A fixed timetable is required under Hong Kong's mini-constitution.

"In order to give people enough time to understand the law, we decided to withdraw it," Tung said.

Agencies