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(4) Everyone in Hong Kong treasures the kind of freedom they now enjoy in regard to individuality, speech and thoughts. All these basic human rights should be defined as soon as possible in a Bill of Human Rights which should be respected by the Basic Law.
Chapter V:
Economy
(1) For the sake of equality, the phrase 'investments from outside' as mentioned in the last paragraph of Article 104 should be amended as 'all investments'.
(2) To avoid future disputes, the phrase 'low tax policy' as mentioned in the first sentence of the second paragraph of Article 107 should be amended as 'tax policy' since there are no absolute criteria to determine whether a tax rate is high or low.
Mr. Chairman, the consultation period of the Basic Law, which is the guideline for administering Hong Kong and will be promulgated early next year, will expire by the end of the month. With different standpoints, experiences and ideologies, there will surely be different comments or degree of acceptance. I would like to urge people from all sectors to respond positively to the Basic Law promulgated. Although some of the stipulations may not be satisfactory to some of us, for the overall benefit of society, sometimes concessions should be made. Furthermore, controversy over the Basic Law should come to a temporary halt by the time of its publication. In no way should they reject those who hold different views as this would result in a split of society. Instead, they should work hand in hand in order to lay down a solid foundation and create favourable conditions for the development of the future SAR.
When promulgating the Basic Law, if the Drafting Committee for the Basic Law can make known the reasons and criteria with which they adopt or reject our proposals, it will be highly conducive to consolidating the co-operation and confidence in establishing Hong Kong. I would like to urge the Drafting Committee for the Basic Law to deliberate this recommendation.
Mr. Chairman, I support the motion.
MR. LAM CHAK-PIU (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, Colleagues, today I would like to express my views on the constitution for Hong Kong in 1997 when it becomes China's Special Administrative Region.
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Indeed, what a coincidence it is for us to discuss this subject on 10 October! During my childhood, there were activities to celebrate the Double Ten Festival. The significance of this Festival is to commemorate the success of the Chinese revolution in overthrowing the Manchu rule and the founding of a democratic, prosperous and strong nation along the lines of the Three Principles of the People. Moreover, a new Republic was set up in China on 1 October 1949 (the year that I graduated from primary school) that marked the beginning of a new era for the people to be the master of their own state. Now, we are here today to discuss the drafting of the future Basic Law. From this, we can see how important October means to we Chinese!
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Since the commencement of the consultation on the Draft Basic Law in 1985 following the establishment of the consultative machinery, up till now, people of HK and various political groups still fail to reach a consensus on the layout of the Basic Law. In the discussions on the political structure, opinions are so divided and varied. Recently, it seems that people have even lost their way in heading for democracy, without knowing what to do.
Even if we look at the Omelco consensus, the 4.4.2 model or the Bicameral system, they are neither horse nor buffalo. However, it is most commendable that all Hong Kong citizens and various political groups have agreed to only one principle, i.e. the contents of the Basic Law must be in line with the principle of democracy. This principle can serve as the basis and guideline for us to decide on our future political system. As defined by Mr. COHEN, democracy is 'a social system in which every member of society enjoys its equal right in taking part directly or indirectly in policy formulation and policy-related guiding issues.' It is further stated that 'Democracy is a kind of community management system. Within the system, members of the community in general can directly or indirectly participate or may participate in policy formulation that affects the community as a whole.'
Article 67 of the Basic Law states, "The Legislative Council of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be constituted by election. The method for forming the Legislative Council shall be specified in the light of the actual situation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress. The ultimate aim shall be the selection of all the members of the Legislative Council through general election.' Obviously, this article is a guiding principle that leads the future leadership towards a democratic system. Though general election is not entirely equal to democracy, it can realize the principle of equality and election of the worthy. That means every citizen has equal chance to participate and equal right in policy formulation. Hence, I think that no matter what the proportion of direct election at the beginning is, we still have to realize this guiding principle in the end. Besides, various parties in Hong Kong as well as local residents have now given their sincere and full support to this principle.
In regard to the establishment of a sound political system, the Basic Law is only a foundation. Other major elements required for the design of Hong Kong's overall political system include the coordination of the administrative and supervisory powers of the Executive Authorities, the Legislature and the Judicial Organs; a buffer relationship between the Central Government and the Special Administrative Region; etc. All these elements must be in harmony with one another. Under the principle of democracy, however, there must be a clear distinction between functions and power in order to avoid going astray and deviating from guidelines and standards when designing the political system. Most of all, we should avoid having to abandon democratic beliefs for the sake of consensus or harmony, otherwise we may be caught in the trap of a political system that we ourselves have laid without even knowing!
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