A leading official of the post-handover administration yesterday admitted it had been 'politically incorrect' in handling the Taiwan question in the consultation document on civil liberties. Elsie Leung Oi-sie, Secretary of Justice-designate, said at a meeting with academics that the question had not been considered thoroughly. 'The document has been prepared in a rush, it is thus a bit politically incorrect,' she said. She was referring to the ban on links between local political groups and Taiwan. The ban adopts the same rules applied to ties with 'foreign political organisations'. The document's presentation has sparked criticism that Taiwan has been treated as a foreign country. Ms Leung insisted the post-handover administration did not intend to regard Taiwan as a foreign country, although it thought a ban should apply. 'Besides, Taiwan is famous for influencing the political activities of other countries by using money. That's why we wrote that in the document,' she said. On national security, Ms Leung would not say whether the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China, which has been branded 'subversive' by China, would be regarded as violating the rules. She also refused to say whether activities commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre would be banned for the same reason. 'It is hard to say whether it is [in violation] before any action is taken, but we do have the Crimes Ordinance dealing with sedition and subversive activities.' Ms Leung reiterated that China's national security law would not be extended to Hong Kong. 'We are talking only about territorial integrity and political independence, there is no reason to view the situation in the light of China's national security laws.'