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detailed because in the ever-changing circumstances, too detailed
a provision might not be good. The legal system in China tends
to be simple and clear. Should there be any problem in some
specific areas, special regulations will be enacted as a
supplement. Other than the Constitution, we have the constituent
act of the NPC, the constituent act of the State Council, the
Electoral act and other provisions governing direct elections.
These could be taken as supplements to the Constitution. Some
countries put all these provisions into the Constitution to
make it very bulky. The writings of some countries' constitution
are as long as several hundred thousand words but that of our
Constitution is less than 30,000 words. Basically, the law of
China is more simple and clear. For any inadequacy special
regulations would be made as supplements. This is the area where
we hold different positions from the other countries in legislation.
Two Implications in Article 31 of the Constitution
Q. Another question is about the legal basis of the Basic Law.
Some overseas people hold that viewing from the angle of the
study of constitutions, Article 31 of the 1982 Constitution
does not elaborate enough'. If such provisions as 'Four Insistences' and 'Unification of Legal System' in the Constitution
are also applicable in Hong Kong, the Basic Law would at any time
become a document in violation of the Constitution. They there-
fore suggest that the Constitution should be properly amended. Do you think it is possible?
A.
At a banquet held the year before, reporters from Hong Kong did ask (me) such a question. Thinking that it was a casual talk, (I gave my opinion), but unexpectedly it was reported in news-
papers the following day. People think that there are con- tradictions (between the Basic Law and the Constitution) mainly
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