1
UNCLASSIFIED
Reference.
disagreement on the possibility of amending the Basic Law after it has come into force in 1997. It is open to the National People's Congress, though perhaps not to its Standing Committee which meets more often than the annual session of the National People's Congress, to change decisions of the National People's Congress. An action of this sort would not affect the Basic Law as it stands at the moment, and subsequently the procedures laid down in article 159 could be used to amend the Law. Even without the SAR, either the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress or the State Council have the power to propose amendments.
4.
The Chinese book on Basic Law and "One Country, Two Systems" which I have been translating contains very little on the amendment of the Basic Law. I attach the relevant extract. It can be seen that firstly only the full National People's Congress has the power to amend the Basic Law. Secondly, there are complex procedures for amendments proposed from Hong Kong involving obtaining the agreement of a two thirds majority of the Legislative Council and of the Chief Executive. These procedures were picked up the Ta Kung Pao article (SWB FE 1394 A/1/ of 30 May), which claimed that since the Hong Kong SAR and the Chief Executive would not exist before 1997 there was no way of putting a bill on the NPC agenda which involved amending the Basic Law. This is true as things stand at the moment, see above, but the situation could be changed by amending NPC decisions and then following the procedures of Article 159 to amend the Law. There is no need for proposals for amendment to emanate from Hong Kong and those which do not do so are not covered by the elaborate scrutiny procedure desribed above.
5.
The composition of the Legislative Council is not laid down the actual text of the Basic Law. It is contained in an Annex to the Law. However, from the point of view of procedures for amendment, I would think that those for amending the annexes must be the same as those for amending the main text. Thus the composition of the Legislative Council could not be changed without amending the Basic Law.
RF Wye
Far Eastern Section
Research & Analysis Dept
OAB 2/125 210 6219/6216
1 June 1992
cc Miss S Brooks Legal Advisers
UNCLASSIFIED