the
with the role laid down in the Basic Law for the National
People's Congress and the Preparatory Committee. This would involve the two sides reaching agreement on criteria;
Chinese Government reporting this to the NPC Standing Committee
for approval and promulgation before the 1995 elections; and
the NPC Standing Committee deciding that these criteria and
no other should be used in 1997 for confirming members of the Legislative Council. The Chinese side said that they could not
accept this proposal, but that it should be possible to find a
solution. In the event, they did not propose any alternative.
-
53.
In Round 15, the Chinese side did however finally respond
to the British side's proposal on through train criteria. In
addition to meeting the straightforward requirements in the Basic Law, including a pledge of allegiance to the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region, the Chinese side proposed that
in order to 'uphold the Basic Law' a Legislative Councillor
would need to:
-
Love China and love Hong Kong;
Uphold the resumption of Chinese sovereignty over Hong
Kong;
Be dedicated to bringing about a smooth transition and
transfer of power in 1997;
K
Support the "one country two systems" principle;
Not commit (or have committed
-
the tense was ambiguous in
the Chinese statement) actions such as opposing the Basic Law, or participating in or leading activities such as
overthrowing the Chinese Government or undermining the
socialist system on the mainland.
54. The British side noted that all these points were already covered by the Basic Law. But the essential point was that any criteria should be forward-looking; unacceptable to have any test of past political views or
it would be
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