Job No. 166880
HANSARD//JUL14:02
HONG KONG legislaTIVE COUNCIL
14 July 1988
1877
We all know that Hong Kong will change from a British Dependent Territory into a Chinese Special Administrative Region. In order not to endanger the elements making up the Territory's stability and economic prosperity, an unprecedented and Herculean legislative project is under way to prepare a Basic Law to be enacted in ten years. In this context, whatever the merits and demerits of the draft, I would like to pay tribute to the members of the Basic Law Drafting Committee and the Consultative Committee for the time and effort devoted and their vision.
The openness on the part of the Chinese Government in the drafting process is such that I am confident that remaining issues will be resolved. The task is complicated, heavy and formidable, but the draft itself can be simplified. I believe the Basic Law need only contain the following elements:
(a) The provisions of the Joint Declaration and its annexes. (b) The basic principle of 'one country, two systems.'
(c) Pragmatism on the basis of Hong Kong's circumstances.
On this basis and working around the provisions for powers of legislation, independent judiciary and final adjudication, a popular Basic Law should not be difficult to produce.
Other matters, such as economic, social, and cultural policy should be subject to separate legislation enacted by the Hong Kong Legislative Council under the guiding principles of the Basic Law, according to special circumstances.
I therefore make the following suggestions:
(I) Power of legislation.
(1) The Hong Kong Legislative Council is vested with legislative power. (2) Laws or decrees to be applied in Hong Kong shall first be enacted or approved by the Legislative Council before taking effect. Under special circumstances, provisional decrees applied in Hong Kong shall be ratified by the Council within a reasonable period of time.
(3) Hong Kong shall not propose legislation in contravention of the Basic
Law.
(4) The National People's Congress and its Standing Committee being the witnesses and supervisors of Hong Kong's legislation shall not repeal Hong Kong's legislation or laws but may, under the following two circumstances, return the same to Hong Kong for further discussion. And these are:
(a) When such laws contravene this law, or
(b) When legislative procedures are not followed.
Such laws shall not take effect during further discussions. During the discussions, therefore, these laws are not to take legal effect.