TNAG-1366-FCO40-1812-Hong-Kong-Legislative-Council-(Powers-and-Privileges)-Bill-1-1985 — Page 97

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The essence of the clause ja mcant to deal with

specific matters such as defence, security or foreign policies

This has always

which are outside the juricidiotion of Hong Kong.

been the case and will always be so. Of course the powers of

LegCo are limited, but the restrictive effect of this clause

bitce into every restricted ar GB, To subscribe to the

validity of the arguments put forward by these prophets of doom

necessitulo a big jump from a presupposition having a very NATTOW

perspective to a wide sweeping conclusion based on a groundless

premise. Il supposes that the future LegCo will succumb to the

authoritarian chiet executive of the SAR who, according to an

Joint Declaration, will be appointed by China after 1997.

short, the merlow context of the Ril) is Laken out to be

compared with the much wider context of the Joint Declaration.

argument aro misleading at beat, and the people of' B,K.

Such

In

would do well to ponder on the postulations rationally and

should not be persuaded by dramatic and Sensational arguments

to accept questionable logic.

However, despite our rejecting the validity of

arguments for dropping Clause 14(2) altogether, it has been thought and

recognised that the real meaning of the clause especially in

relation to the phrase "the responsibility of HMG to Rong Kong"

could be open to misconstruction. Accordingly, amendments were

amended in the manner as described in my speech at the

Committee Stage of this Bill, Such amendments hopefully would

be reassuring,