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The Chinese soldiers serving with the British forces in Hong Kong should be trained to replace the Gurkhas before 1997.
4.47 Other points made in the context of this section were:—
The Chinese military forces might not be effective in preventing the influx of illegal immigrants from China because of their close association with people in China;
The Independent Commission Against Corruption should continue its work after 1997;
The future of Gurkhas now serving in Hong Kong should be clarified; The future of the locally enlisted soldiers and civilian staff currently employed by the British forces should be looked into; and
Capital punishment should be re-introduced.
Section XIII Rights and Freedoms
4.48 The minority who opposed the draft agreement because they objec- ted to the reunification of Hong Kong with the communist PRC expressed concern at the possibility that the communist government in China would not respect individual rights and freedoms; but the majority who accepted the draft agreement found the provisions in this section comprehensive; while they appreciated the difficulty of giving precise definitions of the various rights and freedoms enumerated, they hoped that the Basic Law would provide greater clarity. The views expressed concentrated on:
-the interpretation of rights and freedoms,
-the application of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights,
-the application of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights,
-omissions in the draft agreement.
4.49 Concern was expressed over how the various rights and freedoms enumerated in this section would be interpreted. The three main areas.
were:
Freedom of the press-this should mean freedom of editorial expres- sion and of news reporting without interference. A consolidated ordinance should be enacted to provide the necessary protection;
Freedom of religion-this should include freedom of worship and freedom to preach and continuation of appointment of bishops and missionaries by religious orders and churches outside Hong Kong; and
Freedom of travel-circumstances under which people would not be allowed to leave Hong Kong should be clearly stated.
4.50 In addition to the application of the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, some District Board members suggested the incorporation in the Basic Law of a bill of rights which would contain the necessary constitutional provision to protect civil rights. It was also suggested that the rights and freedoms of
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