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2.
3.
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want to make the point very strongly that laws in western countries are directed against traitors and that there is a great deal of difference between the definition of a traitor and the definition of the word 'subversive' as used in article 22. To the best of my knowledge there is no democratic country in the world which has laws referring to subversion.
There is no reference in the Basic Law to the need to protect the environment. And in this connection, I would refer to Article 26 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China which could be paraphrased and added to the Basic Law.
With reference to Article 96 and the comments by one of the members of the Committee I refer to the last paragraph of Article 3 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China which states 'that the division of functions and powers between the central and local states organs is guided by the principle of giving full scope to the initiative and enthusiasm of local authorities under the unified leadership of the central authority'. This could be paraphrased to cover the Hong Kong situation as outlined in my original comment on Article 96. The point was made by some of my colleagues, rather better than I covered it in my submission, that Articles like 105, 107, 118 really should be guidelines and not law, and such guidelines should also cover the possibility for the SAR to be able to raise foreign loans and to enter into double tax agreements etc.
No provision is made in the Basic Law for the transition from British Colony to Chinese Sovereignty, and I agree that this does not belong into the Basic Law, but it is very important that either in a Preamble or in an Appendix this point is adequately covered. I know that Sovereignty is a very sensitive point, but it must not be allowed to interfere with the smooth running of the Territory and a smooth handover from one administration to the other. There are many ways in which this can be accomplished. The best would probably be an election in late 1996 or early 1997 supervised jointly by the UK Government and the PRC, possibly via the JLG, with membership of the Legislature and election procedures complying with the Basic Law. Subsequent to this an election or an appointment of the Chief Executive to take of the reins of Government, preferably already on the 1 January 1997, and all these to remain in place until the next elections in 1999 or 2000. If required, for reasons of Sovereignty, all could formally resign at one minute before midnight on the 30 June 1997 and be immediately reinstated at one minute past midnight on the 1 July 1997. This is just one suggestion, I am sure the same object can be achieved in other ways. What is important is that continuity is preserved and that there is no abrupt change on the 1 July 1997.
(Mr. Stephen LAU and Dr. Philip Kwox left the meeting at 3.30 p.m.)
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MR. JOSEPH Y. S. CHAN (in Cantonese): Madam Chairman, I often try to get in touch with people who have applied for emigration. During the summer I visited Vancouver and Toronto in Canada. I stayed there for more than ten days, trying to understand some of my friends' motives for emigration. It was found that all of them had lost confidence in Hong Kong after 1997. Generally speaking, their worry is that China may interfere in the affairs of Hong Kong, and would thus corrupt the principle of 'one country, two systems'. They also fear that the Basic Law could not safeguard a high degree of autonomy for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). They are afraid of losing the human rights and freedoms which are being enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong.
Of these emigrants, quite a number of them were willing to give up their well-paid and high-ranking jobs. With an irrevocable determination, they left Hong Kong with all their belongings. Some came back to Hong Kong alone after their wives and children had settled down overseas. Then they would continue to engage themselves in investment business in Hong Kong and Mainland China. As a result, new sociological terms begin to emerge, i.e. husbands under the above-mentioned circumstances are called 'astronauts' and their wives, 'modern widows'. Actually, most of them are reluctant to leave Hong Kong. It is only because they do not have sufficient confidence in the future of Hong Kong that they have to take so much pain to look for a (foreign) passport as a protection.
I once attended a seminar on the Basic Law organized by a residents' association. One of the speakers was an important person of the Consultative Committee for the Basic Law. He held that the views of the Hong Kong people on the Draft Basic Law for solicitation of opinions were widely divergent, whereas the mainland members of the Drafting Committee tended to share a consensus of opinion. He remarked that if the Hong Kong people continued to persist in their opposing views, China would certainly make its own decisions on everything. Then it would be the people of Hong Kong who are to suffer.
Madam Chairman, I have never doubted the sincerity of the Chinese government in consulting the opinions of the Hong Kong people on the Basic Law. But I do not expect this important figure to make in public, such remarks which would start a panic. Irrespective of the truthfulness of his saying, it makes us shudder at the thought of our future. Moreover, the silent majority, who are already reluctant to talk much, will now become all the more taciturn.
I believe that 'freedom, democracy and rule-by-law' are the three great motivation forces in boosting the prosperity of Hong Kong, as well as the three factors that would maintain the confidence of the Hong Kong people and set their mind at ease. Only a democratic political system which suits the actual conditions of Hong Kong can guarantee that Hong Kong will have a sound rule-by-law system. Only with a genuine rule-by-law system can we safeguard the human rights and freedoms of the Hong Kong people. When human rights
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