CRACKDOWN IN STORE FOR HONG KONG : LEADER-IN-WAITING WILL CURB CIVIL RIGHTS.

Byline: Edward A. Gargan The New York Times

In a severe blow to civil liberties, the man appointed by China to run Hong Kong after July 1 announced plans Wednesday to impose more stringent controls on the rights of public protest and free association.

The proposed controls, which offered the first detailed glimpse at how China will run Hong Kong, include requiring all organizations to register with the police, restrictions on public demonstrations and allowing the government to ban some organizations altogether.

Although the measures are officially subject to a period of public consultation, they are regarded as certain to be adopted by the new Beijing-appointed body that will replace Hong Kong's elected legislature after July 1.

Last year China made clear that it would not tolerate Hong Kong's liberal laws on rights to protest and association, laws passed by the British colonial administration after Chinese soldiers killed hundreds of protesters in the Tiananmen demonstrations in 1989.

In a document issued Wednesday, Tung Chee-hwa, the shipping magnate chosen by China as the territory's first chief executive, declared that ``Hong Kong is extremely vulnerable to external forces.''

Tung insisted that the new government that will take over the British Crown Colony must ``strike a balance between civil liberties and social stability, personal rights and social obligations, individual interests and the common good.''

While China declared earlier this year that it would repeal several key civil liberties laws, Wednesday's announcement provided the first details. The measures were immediately denounced both by Hong Kong politicians and the British colonial government.

``The proposal is a regressive step for civil liberty in Hong Kong,'' said Yeung Sum, a leader of the Democratic Party, which has been critical of China's plans for Hong Kong. ``It is a bad message to people outside of Hong Kong that civil liberties here will be restricted.''

Gov. Chris Patten, who supported lifting restrictions on civil liberties originally imposed by Britain, said, ``Is it really our message to the world in 1997 that where everywhere else, almost everywhere else anyway, freedom is being enhanced, in Hong Kong we have got to edge back a bit from the freedoms we enjoy already?''

The Chinese government and Tung have maintained that the liberalized civil liberties laws introduced by the British colonial government in 1992 and 1995 violate the Basic Law, the constitution drawn up for Hong Kong as a result of negotiations between China and Britain in 1984.

Under Tung's proposal, all organizations and societies will now be required to register with the police. In the past, organizations merely had to notify the government of their existence. In addition, the government will have the power to ban any organization ``in the interests of national security'' as well as in any instance where it is deemed necessary for the ``protection of the rights and freedom of others.''

And in a move seen as directly aimed at Hong Kong's Democratic Party, Tung's proposal would ban any group receiving contributions from abroad. Martin Lee, the chairman of the Democratic Party, is currently touring the United States and Canada raising money for it.

Another of Tung's proposals will require groups organizing protests and demonstrations to seek permission from police seven days in advance. Tung's proposals would give police wide latitude in banning protests, including prohibiting any protest that is ``not in the interests of national security.''

Tung, who has expressed his admiration for the authoritarian rule of Singapore's Lee Kwan Yew and Malaysia's Mohammed Mahathir, both of whom have sharply limited political activity in their countries, has regularly stated his intention to impose more austere limits on Hong Kong's political freedoms.