(b)
4
not include any reference
autonomy as envisaged in
In order
would be
foreign or
to the extent of that
the Joint Declaration.
adequately to reflect that provision it
defence affairs".
appropriate to add the phrase "except in
I mentioned this point in relation to what is now Article 12 in my letter to you of 1 August 1988. The addition of "except in foreign or defence affairs" after "a high degree of autonomy" could be made either in that Article or in Article 2.
Accountability
(1)
The
last sentence of the
third paragraph of Section I of Annex I to the Joint Declaration provides that "the executive authorities shall abide by the law and shall be accountable to the legislature".
Article 64 of the 1989 text
as
for matters
provides that the Government of the Special Administrative Region shall be accountable to the Legislative Council in four respects: implementing laws, presenting reports on its work, answering questions and obtaining approval for taxation and expenditure. The question arises whether, taken whole, Article 64 provides for comprehensive accountability
for which the Government of the Special Administrative Region is responsible. A shorter and more comprehensive formulation of Article 64 to give effect to the passage from the Joint Declaration quoted above would be: "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall abide by the law and shall be accountable to the Legislative Council of the Region for matters which the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region administers on its own in accordance with this Law".
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