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provisions of the Sino-British Agreement. Neither will it be compatible
with the "one country, two systems" concept. China will certainly oppose
to it. However, it is definitely not democracy that China is up against, but these people's strategy of "resisting the communists through democracy"
and the creation of division. The crux of the matter is that some people
want to make the provisions of the Sino-British Agreement, which are
beneficial to the unification of China and its territorial integrity, as well
as the recovery of sovereignty, into empty clauses without substance. Proposals
to rush in political reforms, to expand the power of the Legislative Council
to that of a parliament and to empower the Legislative Council to appoint and
recall the Chief Executive are tantamount to creating "a state within a state".
If this continues, provisions in the Sino-British Agreement that stipulate
that the Basic Law shall provide for the political structure and social
systems of the SAR, and that the appointment of the Chief Executive and
principal officials shall be made by the Central Government will become only
a piece of paper.
Why Does China Support Democracy in Hong Kong?
One of the major elements of democracy is that things should be
done in accordance with law and procedures. Under the Sino-British Agreement,
Hong Kong will become a Special Administrative Region. This is within the
ambit of the Basic Law of the People's Republic of China. The political set-
up of the future government is also stipulated in Annex I of the Sino-Pritish
Agreement. When changes are to be made to Hong Kong's political system,
respects should be given to the opinions of the members of the Basic Law
Drafting and Consultative Committees as well as the upwards-and-downwaris
method of consulting the views of the Hong Kong people as announced by the
Chinese Government. Before the Basic Law is formulated, a "rush" move
decide on Hong Kong's political system after 1997 is not in line with the
procedures. In the implementation of the Sino-British Agreement, each
party should adhere strictly to the provisions of the Agreement and the
required procedure. A move made not in line with the rules is a breach
of democracy.
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