TNAG-1327-FCO40-1740-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Ministerial-statements-1984 — Page 97

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4.6 Other important points made were:-

The entire process for appointing the Chief Executive, including his term of office, should be fully defined;

The CPG should not have the right to veto such appointment: if the CPG had the final say in the appointment, Beijing might eventually control all appointments in the SAR, including those in the administration and the judiciary;

The term "local inhabitant" should be precisely defined; the status of the Chief Executive and senior government officials as local inhabitants should be defined as Hong Kong born or bona fide long time residents with at least 10 years continuous residence in Hong Kong;

All appointments should be based on ability and experience, and not on political affiliation or nepotism;

In order to provide a system of checks and balances, an unequivocal line of accountability between the Chief Executive and the legislature should be spelt out in the Basic Law; and

For the purpose of strengthening the link between China and Hong Kong, and to enable local views to be more fully and directly reflected to the CPG, the Chief Executive or some members of the future SAR legislature should be appointed to the National People's Congress.

4.7 The provision for the legislature of the SAR to be constituted by elections was hailed by many, including members of District Boards and the Urban Council as "far-sighted and progressive ".

far-sighted and progressive". There should be (as the Hong Kong Government plans) a progressive development of a more representative legislature with seats filled by direct election. At the same time there were many who said that prosperity and stability must not be sacrificed to achieve democracy in a hurry as this might damage a good investment environment. Hong Kong would be of use to China only if it remains prosperous and stable. The new political structure should be established by the late '80s or early '90s, so as to enable Hong Kong people to practise self-administration before 1997.

4.8 There has been an increasingly strong and loud call that Hong Kong people should not only be consulted but also participate in the drafting of the Basic Law, which should include all the provisions in the draft agreement. As the Chinese Constitution is based on a different political ideology, it was urged that the involvement of the Hong Kong people was essential to ensure that the principles of the draft agreement are fully reflected in the Basic Law. Hong Kong should be represented by lawyers, legal experts of international repute, and people from various sectors of the community.

4.9 Considerable concern has also been expressed about possible conflicts between the laws currently in force in Hong Kong, the Basic Law and the Chinese Constitution. It was suggested that the Basic Law should stipulate that Chinese laws should not apply to Hong Kong. Most of those who commented favoured the Court of Final Appeal of the SAR as the final authority for interpreting the Basic Law.

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