- I -
Proposed amendments to Crimes Ordinance necessary: Governor
There is considerable concern in Hong Kong on one part of the Basic Law which refers to crimes, in particular subversion and secession which are not readily placed in English Common Law, the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, said in Tokyo today (Wednesday).
Speaking at a press conference in the Japan National Press Club, Mr Patten also said there was concern in Hong Kong about the survival of civil liberties after 1997.
He said that every time there were incidents in China which have a substantial civil liberties content, those concerns in Hong Kong were increased. And those concerns had to a considerable extent focused on one part of the Basic Law which referred to crimes, in particular subversion and secession which were not readily placed in English Common Law.
"We have therefore been under pressure from legislators and lawyers for sometime to try to put into acceptable legal language what those offences might mean. We have been discussing for 17 months with Chinese officials this issue but, frankly, we have not got anywhere," the Governor said.
He added: "So very reluctantly we decided we would need to go ahead to honour our commitments to people in Hong Kong, to try to establish in the language of the common law which governs Hong Kong's decency and freedom, what these things might mean.
"And to establish internationally acceptable benchmarks for these crimes, and benchmarks which are totally in line with the Joint Declaration, the Basic Law, Hong Kong's Bill of Rights and the International Covenants which apply in Hong Kong and which China accepts should apply in Hong Kong."
Mr Patten also asked at the conference Japan to treat the Hong Kong passport no less favourably than it treated the British passport on which some Hong Kong people presently travel.
He also explained why he was optimistic about Hong Kong's future: that the people of Hong Kong are resilient; that it has got the various institutions of a strong and healthy civil society, such as the rule of law and an efficient and clean civil service; and that it is in China's interests should Hong Kong continue to do well.
Earlier in the day, the Governor told a group of Japanese businessmen that it was in Japan's interests that Hong Kong should continue to do well.