TNAG-1722-FCO40-2415-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Basic-Law-1988 — Page 112

HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 13 July 1988

1829

Motion

DRAFT BASIC LAW OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

MISS DUNN moved the following motion: That this Council takes note of 'The Draft Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (For Solicitation of Opinions)' and urges the people of Hong Kong to study the draft and to express their views on it.

MISS DUNN: The publication of the first draft of the Basic Law is a remarkable event. Who could have conceived 50, 20 or even five years ago that a Government of China would one day publish the draft of such a law, widely promulgate its text. and formally invite public comment upon it? It is also remarkable that China from the beginning has involved Hong Kong people in the drafting process. Indeed some of them are Members of this Council.

These steps alone are, in my view, proof of China's sincerity in seeking to devise for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region a constitutional framework that will ensure that Hong Kong's distinctive way of life will endure, and that will entrench the rights and freedoms that its people presently enjoy.

We in this Council must take this opportunity to offer our comments on the draft. Unless we do so, we shall only have ourselves to blame if the final version is not to our liking. But there is another reason too. It is inevitable, in a long and complex document like this, drafted in a committee, even in several sub-groups of a committee, that there will be parts that need improvement, clarification or amendment. Draft laws. however carefully they have been drafted, can only benefit from critical examination. I am sure that the experience of all of us in this Council bears that out.

As Members of this Council, we do not comment on behalf of the Hong Kong Government. We comment for ourselves, in good conscience. Day in and day out we strive to serve the people of Hong Kong, and to attend to their concerns. The draft Basic Law is a crucially important document, affecting us one and all for years to come. We cannot stand silent.

We have therefore requested our Constitutional Development Panel, under the convenorship of Mr. Andrew WONG, to examine the draft Basic Law. That panel has consulted other panels on particular aspects of the draft. Mr. Andrew WONG who will be speaking after me will be informing us later in this debate of the progress of his panel and the preliminary views they have formed. When the panel has completed its work, it will report back to all the Members of this Council who are not Official Members. We shall then request the British Government to submit the report to the Chinese authorities. We shall also publish it.