Special Administrative Region." (Article 8, Basic Law)
"The provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and international labour
conventions as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force and shall be implemented through
the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region." (Article 39, Basic Law)
"International agreements to which the People's Republic of China is not a party but
which are implemented in Hong Kong may remain implemented in the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region." (Article 152, Basic Law)
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And more specifically, "persons in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
other than Hong Kong residents shall, in accordance with law, enjoy the rights and freedoms
of Hong Kong residents prescribe in this Chapter." (Article 41, Basic Law)
These provisions show, and they are mere examples only, that in so far as the Bill of
Rights Ordinance is an implementation of the ICCPR, the Bill is not inconsistent with the
Basic Law.
2.
Disparity between the two systems, different notions of human rights, and changing
perceptions of what is fundamental, however, do exist. And this conflict, I think, could be
harmonized under the notion of "one country, two systems" and be diluted to something less
than an opposition.
Among the disparities, the first and foremost is the priority of benefit allocation.
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