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J
Sir, while studying in depth Clause 14(2), it has
With brought home to me a few home truths about Hong Kong.
your permission, I would like to share them with friends and foes alike. Many of our critics may elect to ignore reality. If they do, it would be totally understandable, for truth can hurt and furthermore, having to scale down their intellectual aspirations to stark reality would probably hurt even more.
The truth is that Hong Kong has never existed as a
She will not and cannot exist
totally independent territory.
We survived and
in future as a totally independent territory. thrived under British sovereignty as a Colony and we aim to survive and prosper under Chinese sovereignty as a Special Administrative Region. Our legislature, now or in the future, elected or appointed, are and will always be subject to some limitations, We cannot demand nor expect to be given powers which are equal to those enjoyed by independent sovereign states. We should not and cannot for example investigate into areas of defence, national security and foreign policy. 14 (2) starkly reminds us of this reality and no one should harbour any illusions as to the reasons for our existence and the route along which we must travel in order to attain
stability and prosperity in the future.
Clause
The people of H.K.
cannot afford to be blinded by idealistic aspirations for the
full trappings of a western-style democracy.