CCPR/C/58/Add.6 page 114
2.
Information relating to articles in parts I, II and III of the Covenant
16. The following information is supplementary to that provided in the United Kingdom's first and second reports on Hong Kong, and given by the United Kingdom delegation at the meetings of the Human Rights Committee which discussed these reports. Articles in relation to which no new legislative or administrative developments have occurred since August 1988 are not included in this report. Inclusion of particular points does not necessarily mean that the United Kingdom considers that they fall within the scope of particular articles of the Covenant.
Article 1
17. The first and second reports and the supplement thereto set out under article 25 the present political structure and system of consultation in Hong Kong, and the steps so far taken in the development towards more representative government. Further detailed information on this question was provided by the United Kingdom delegation during the Human Rights Committee meetings in November 1988 (see CCPR/C/SR.856, paras. 16-55).
18.
The Chinese Government through the Basic Law Consultative Committee is currently consulting the Hong Kong people on their views on the pace of development of representative government after 1997, as it is to be provided for in the Basic Law. The views of Hong Kong people on this matter are of crucial importance. A number of models for the future composition of the Legislative Council have been put forward and have stimulated a great deal of debate in the community.
19. The first elections to the Legislative Council which will include a directly elected element are to be held in 1991. The Hong Kong Administration has always believed that political development should be based on the widest possible support in the community and would wish to respond positively, when it takes final decisions on the composition of the Legislative Council in 1991, to a broadly held Hong Kong view which emerges out of the debate in the community. Such a view would also help the drafters of the Basic Law to carry out the important task of formulating the structure of Hong Kong's political system in and after 1997.
Article 2
20. At present the Covenant is implemented in Hong Kong through a combination of legislation, common law and administrative rules. This system is not static but is constantly evolving through new legislation, developments in common law and equity and refinement of administrative practices. Legislation and rules are kept under constant review so that any remaining inadequacies may be exposed and remedied, and positive improvements made.
21.
In the context of the preparation of a human rights ordinance, the Hong Kong Government is now carrying out a full review of legislation with the aim of ensuring that current legislation would be consistent with such an ordinance if it were introduced. At the same time, the Law Reform Commission is reviewing a number of areas which have a bearing on human rights issues, for example the police regulations on stop and search, and the loitering law. The state of progress of the Commission's work on these various issues will be described under the relevant articles.