XN000022-1988-07-14 — Page 8

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THURSDAY, JULY 14, 1988

HE FEARED THAT THE EXTREMELY DETAILED

CONSIDERATION OF EVERY WORD IN THE DRAFT, AND THE PRECISE MEANING VARIOUSLY ASCRIBED TO WORDS, GROUPS OF WORDS, PARAGRAPHS AND PROVISIONS WHICH HAD BEEN ENTHUSIASTICALLY APPLIED BY EVERY LEGAL, ADMINISTRATION, HUMAN RIGHTS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE EXPERT IN HONG KONG AND ELSEWHERE, COULD HAVE TWO UNFORTUNATE RESULTS.

"THE FIRST IS THAT THE UBIQUITOUS 'MAN IN THE STREET' THAT IS THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG, WILL BECOME TOTALLY CONFUSED AS TO THE OVERALL WORTH OF THE BASIC LAW AND THE DEGREE TO WHICH IT CAN BE TRUSTED TO DO WHAT IT IS FUNDAMENTALLY REQUIRED TO DO," HE SAID.

"THE SECOND UNFORTUNATE RESULT MAY BE THAT THE CONFUSION OVER WHAT IS GOOD AND WHAT IS BAD, OR MERELY INDIFFERENT IN THE DRAFT BASIC LAW WILL ADD TO THE ALREADY HIGH LEVEL OF UNCERTAINTY AFFECTING OUR CHINESE MIDDLE CLASS WHO WILL CONTINUE TO VOTE WITH THEIR FEET.'

SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE COMMERCIAL CONSTITUENCY WHICH HE REPRESENTED, MR CLYDESDALE HOPED THAT ENGLISH WOULD BE RECOGNISED AS A SECOND OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION.

INTERNATIONAL

"IT MUST BE OBVIOUS TO EVERYONE THAT HONG KONG'S BUSINESS STATUS AND PERFORMANCE OWES A GREAT DEAL TO THE USE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, NOT ONLY IN OUR EXTERNAL BUSINESS BUT ALSO IN LOCAL COMMERCE AND IN GOVERNMENT.

"RECOGNITION OF THIS IMPORTANT MATTER IN THE BASIC LAW WOULD PROVIDE BOTH ASSURANCE OF A CONTINUATION OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT IN HONG KONG AND ALSO AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO LOCAL PEOPLE TO MAINTAIN A BILINGUAL PHILOSOPHY, HE OBSERVED.

*

MR CLYDESDALE ALSO SUGGESTED THAT POLICY GUIDELINES SHOULD BE LIFTED OUT OF THE BASIC LAW AND PLACED INTO AN ANNEX WHICH NEED NOT HAVE PRECISE LEGAL EFFECT.

POLICY WAS FLEXIBLE AND MUST BE CAPABLE OF ADJUSTMENT ΤΟ MEET CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES AND SHOULD BE SEPARATED FROM LAW, HE NOTED.

MOREOVER, HE SAID IT WAS NECESSARY TO ENSURE THAT THERE WAS NO AMBIGUITY ABOUT THE RIGHT OF THE SAR TO HAVE, TO MODIFY, TO OPERATE, AND TO ENJOY, THE FRUITS OF ITS OWN TAXATION SYSTEM.

FOR THIS PURPOSE, HE SUGGESTED THAT ARTICLES 106 AMALGAMATED WITH ARTICLE 108 TAKING PRECEDENCE. ARTICLE STIPULATED A LOW TAX POLICY FOR HONG KONG, COULD SERVE GUIDELINE.

AND 108 BE 107, WHICH POLICY

AS A

/WHILE STRESSING