Job No. 166880
HANSARD//JUL14:07
1
1898
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 14 July 1988
we had nothing before us,
we were all going direct to Heaven,
we were all going direct the other way.'
(From 'A Tale of Two Cities' by Charles DICKENS)
Which is it going to be? Well, the choice is ours.
Mr. Desmond Lɛɛ (in Cantonese): Sir, the present Basic Law draft is for solicitation of opinions. Instead of being open-minded, some consultative committee members and even Chinese officials have been so narrow minded as to say that Hong Kong British authorities should not discuss the Basic Law. Everyone's view should be welcome. Wehter they accept the views should be a matter for then to decide. If I went disciplining may own son, for instance, and my neighbour offered some practical advice. Why not give it some thought, rather than accuse him of interferring with your domestic affairs? Since the publication of the draft Basic Law, Hong Kong and British officials have not publicly commented on it. On the other hand, during last year's Green Paper review, certain Chinese leaders and Hong Kong representatives have spoken and acted in a way that the public regarded as intervention, influencing the objectivity of the review. Now that Mainland drafters are in Hong Kong, they have invited Legislative Counsellors and district board members to express their views, but only in their personal capacities. Why have they not invited our over 5 million people to comment in their personal capacities?
During the negotiations on Hong Kong's future certain Chinese leaders have asserted that what the British could do, the Chinese could do also. Over a century of British rule has indeed laid down a very good foundation. By agreeing to maintaining the status quo for 50 years, China has accepted to some degree the achievements of British rule. But really has it been any extraordinary ability on the part of the British that has brought about today's achievement? I think not. Not that the British have any extraordinary ability, but that the good British systems applied in Hong Kong have been successful, and such systems do not exist in British alone, but have been adopted in many other places. Having lived here for almost 40 years, I have seen six Governors in my day. No change in Governorship has made much difference to the running of Hong Kong, which goes to show that the system has been successful, ther has not been rule by personality. Turning to China, Government personality has existed through the ages to the present, every change in leadership has sent shock waves through the country. Those in Hong Kong who are worried about the territory's future, even frightened of China, are such because they appreciate the difference between rule by personality and rule by system. Some of the most successful of Hong Kong's existing systems are the rule of law, the relationship among the executive, legislative and judiciary, and freedom. I join the debate today on these three themes.
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