Job No. 166880
HANSARD JULT3:11
A
1860
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
13 July 1988
Government. That is why both Mrs. Rita FAN and I feel that article 142 should be duly amended to reflect this spirit of freedom.
Sir, with these remarks, I support the motion.
MRS. NG (in Cantonese): Sir, the draft Basic Law for solicitation of opinions is a document that affects everyone in Hong Kong. I would like therefore to urge the people of Hong Kong to voice their views so that the final draft will meet the needs and functioning of the future SAR.
I would like to put forward two points.
Article 9 of Chapter I regarding languages. The article reads 'In addition to the Chinese language, the English language may also be used by the executive authorities, legislature and judicial organs of the Hong Kong Special Admin- istrative Region.' I think to say that the English language may also be used is not definite enough. Hong Kong is an international financial centre and the importance of English cannot be ignored. Article 91 of Chapter IV states- Judges and other members of the judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be chosen by reference to the judicial and pro- fessional qualities and may be recruited from other common law jurisdictions." Judges recruited from other jurisdictions I believe will only have English as their major language. Therefore I feel that equal emphasis should be placed on English in the Hong Kong SAR. It should be an official language, enjoying equal status with Chinese. This should be made clear in the draft Basic Law.
In the early '70s, the Hong Kong Government stipulated the use of Chinese in official business. This has been effective both in administration and in enhancing communication with the public. Therefore, our future Government should give equal weight to both English and Chinese, so that this very effective language policy can continue to achieve its function.
I also hope that the future Chinese Government and the Hong Kong SAR can really adhere to article 30 in Chapter 3. That is that Hong Kong residents shall have the freedom of movement within the Hong Kong SAR and the freedom of emigration to other countries. Hong Kong residents who hold valid travel documents shall have the freedom to travel, and the freedom of entry and exit, and unless restrained by law shall be free to leave the Hong Kong SAR without special authorisation. I feel that the freedom to come and go is a basic right and it must be protected.
Sir, with these remarks, I support the motion.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Sir, one objective of the Legislative Council debate on the draft Basic Law is to stimulate the political awareness of the people of Hong Kong in how they will be governed from 1997 onwards.
For the 5.5 million people who will still be here in 1997, the more they come to understand about the Basic Law during the transition period, the less