HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
5 July 1989
香港立法局 ————一九八九年七月五日
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At this moment in time, I am convinced that nothing short of a tri-partite approach to uphold the Sino-British Joint Declaration can save Hong Kong from our predicament. China must live up to her promises to her own citizens if we are to have any trust in "one country, two systems". Britain must fulfill her role in the Joint Declaration by agreeing to speed up democratic reforms and guarantees of basic rights in the Hong Kong legislation. Hong Kong itself must work harder than ever to make sure that the "one country, two systems" will be in everybody's interest to preserve.
On 12 June, I wrote to the secretariat of the Basic Law Consultative Committee to say that I have decided to suspend my active participation in the work of the committee pending the receipt of clear signals from the Beijing regime that it will truly honour its obligations in the Joint Declaration in a manner very different from that of the basic rights of its own citizens. I suggest that this cautious approach to the Basic Law drafting should be adopted in view of the significant impact the legal document has on Hong Kong's future.
Prior to my notification sent to the Basic Law Consultative Committee, I had sent out a questionnaire on the OMELCO consensus to all members of the Hong Kong Society of Accountants. As chance would have it, the questionnaire reached the members over the 4 June weekend so the replies can be said to be post-4 June.
Out of 306 replies, 251 agreed with the OMELCO consensus whilst 33 wanted to advance direct elections to 1997 or earlier. Only 1 wanted direct elections later than 2003. I can therefore say that the overwhelming majority of accountants concur with the OMELCO consensus.
These findings provide me with pointers for future discussions on the Basic Law.
However, it does not mean that I will cease work altogether on the Basic Law. I intend to be busier than ever to improve the text of the Basic Law taking into account the recent events. I am pleased to report that the business and professional group is in the process of instructing two leading constitutional lawyers of international repute and we hope to have the experts' opinions on the legal document towards the end of August. I think that the time is well overdue to get the real professionals to give their views.
I believe that we should ask Beijing for an extension of the consultation period, not only to make up for the time lost by the mainlanders not being able to get their act together as a result of the turmoil, but for us to examine in depth the implication recent events in China will have on our own rights and safety. I also believe that the promulgation of the Basic Law will now have to be delayed.
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