government
and their interests but at the same time it cannot neglect to guarantee the interests of the workers. Welfare treatment and retirement for workers must be clearly regulated and receive legal protection. When we are clearly setting out the organization of the political system of the Hong Kong SAR and defining the responsibilities and mutual relations between various departments and developing the democratic system of elections, we must also reflect the common interest and desires of every level and must make a compromise and balance between the interests of different levels. In this way, not only will things be of benefit to encouraging the the enthusiasm of Hong Kong people for running Hong Kong but it will also be of benefit to raising the spirit of reconciliation
among the organs of government and will be of benefit to developing democratic participation suitable to Hong Kong's conditions and will be of benefit further in protecting the stability of the government in Hong Kong.
B:
The Division of Legislative Authority between the Centre and the Hong Kong SAR under "One Country Two Systems".
The
power of making legislation is a very important power enjoyed by the state and it signifies that the state organs so empowered have the power according to a fixed process to decide on, to amend and to withdraw laws. In modern states it is always the state constitution that regulates which state organs have the power to make laws and/or have greater powers of legislation, and the constitution also defines the limit to these powers. In modern democratic states, the division of legislative powers usually refer to the division of legislative powers between the centre and the localities and is in fact a question of how to deal with the relationship between the centre and the localities. Limit to legislative power that we are talking about here, refer to the question of the limits of legislative power under one country two systems' between the centre and the Hong Kong SAR. According to the current system in Hong Kong, legislative power in fact resides with the British Queen and the Governor of Hong Kong appointed by her. The Legislative Council does not enjoy complete and independent legislative authority. Obviously, this sort legislative system with its colonial overtones cannot be maintained after we have resumed sovereignty in 1997 and at that time we must establish a new legislative system which defines clearly the limits of legislative power between the centre and the Hong Kong SAR. According to our constitution and laws, the limits of legislative power for the centre are as follows:
of
of
the the
(a) The National People's Congress which is the highest organ state power in our country and its standing committee are organs which carry out state legislative power. The NPC has power
to amend the constitution and to decide and to amend the criminal code, the civil code and basic laws for state organs and other such basic laws; the Standing Committee of the NPC has the power
to decide and amend all other laws except for those which have to be dealt with by the NPC. When the NPC is not in session the Standing Committee of the NPC can make partial additions and amendments to existing laws passed by the NPC but these cannot be in contravention of the basic principles of these laws.
(b) The State Council is the Central People's government and is the highest organ exercising state power, the highest administrative
organ of the state and enjoys power to decide on administrative regulations, and it has the power to draw up administrative regulations according to the constitution and the laws. Apart from this, according to powers from the NPC the State