"chilling

orders

1997 restrin robu

such as ha

It could · after

aga e agencies of government, lately attttention to the independence of the

Kong superits.

70 Time will tell.

Ho

If Hog were to remain a microcosm of governmer

used to British ways, th

However, th

and in

officials, ed possibilityconflict might be minimised. insistence he PRC that, Chinese Pet Liberation Army

Hong Kong future.

against

as a symbol of sovereignty, th

(PLA) will be stationed i

1997 presents a potential flashpoint for th

Af might be sought by a citizen in the court.

of

the courts

t/conduct

PLA. the

Orders of

directed the PLA could present that organisation with ar

utterly dierent source of discipline to that to which it has been customed. Then, the court may indeed appear an

alien authrity.

NPC or

It might be represented to be such to the

to other organs of power in Beijing. It takes a

mighty leap of faith to believe that the flash at this point can be avoided for fifty years. It is perhaps in recognition of this source of tension that the PRC has announced that, in

the

case of Taiwan, the PLA would not be stationed there after its return

71 "to the Motherland".

But Hong Kong is

different.

THE BASIC GOAL A SHARED POLITY?

A further problem is presented by the status

the status of the basic rights and by

and by their content. The Bill of Rights Ordinance is, after all, simply an enactment of the local legislature. With perfect legality, under the Constitution of the PRC, it could be repealed, modified or qualified. 72

No Colonial

Laws

Validity Act 1865 (Imp) will avail

to

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