dicial and legislative fields;
provisions for the protection of human rights and
basic freedoms in the draft;
which
the provisions on the economy in the draft, while
desirable in themselves, are widely considered to
be inappropriate in a constitutional document of
this kind;
- the interpretation of the Basic Law;
the political system of the HKSAR.
We are now focussing on these concerns in our
continuing contacts with the Chinese. They for their
part have admitted that the draft is less than perfect
and have made it clear that they are willing to consider
amendments. Our aim in the coming months will be to
ensure that the draft fully and faithfully reflects the
principles enshrined in the Joint Declaration.
At the end of the day, however, a degree of judgement
and interpretation will be involved. We shall impress
upon the Chinese the need to produce a Basic Law that is
credible and reassuring to Hong Kong and the
international community. But we must also recognise that
China has ultimate sovereignty over Hong Kong and that a
'high degree of autonomy' does not mean independence.
The outcome of
The key will be to get the balance right.
this exercise will certainly have an important effect on
confidence in Hong Kong and on the way in which people in
the territory regard their future.
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