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FM HONG KONG
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OF 010951Z NOVEMBER 93
15 NOV 1993
INFO PRIORITY PEKING UKRER JLG HONG KONG
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Talks on 1994-95 Elections: Wu Jianfan on the Through Train
1.
Wu Jianfan, Mainland member of the PWC Legal Affairs Sub-group (and former Basic Law drafter) was quoted in today's (1 November) media reports as saying that the courts should have no role in deciding whether a Legislator elected in 1995 could ride the through train. He said that such a suggestion (for the courts to decide) mixed up concepts from the criminal Law with the Basic Law. If it were a question of depriving a legislator of his right to serve as a Legco member, then this should rightly be decided by the courts. However, this was not the case. The issue is whether a Legislative Council member meets the criteria to be confirmed as a member of the first SAR Legislature by the SAR/PC, for which there is clear stipulation in the Basic Law and thus the concept in the criminal Law is not applicable.
2. On the confirmation criteria, Wu said that they were already clearly set out in the Basic Law. It would not be possible at the present stage to make detailed explanation of every Basic Law article; clear definitions would have to be made by the SAR/PC in 1996 in Light of the actual conditions. Some papers also reported Wu to have said that the criterion of whether a Legislator had engaged in subversive activities against the CPG should be retrospective.
Comment
3. A typically unhelpful position taken by Wu Jianfan.
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