Job No. 166830
HANSARD//JOL13:12
1862
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
M
- 13 July 1988
Thirdly, the Chinese Government have promised the people of Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy to be incorporated in the Basic Law. This principle was succinctly captured in the phrase prevalent during the negotiations,
A meaning in English 'Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong'.
If Hong Kong is to thrive as a prosperous cosmopolitan city, I believe that apart from defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong should be given under the Basic Law the fullest possible measure of internal self-government under Chinese sovereignty.
The high degree of autonomy indicated in the different articles of the draft Basic Law is expected to promote economic prosperity and social stability in Hong Kong. However, much refining is still required to be done in areas such as interpretation of the Basic Law and the scope of the Hong Kong SAR Judiciary as a Court of Final Appeal. The constitutional relationship between the Central Government and the Hong Kong SAR Government will have to be clearly demarcated, keeping intervention by the Central Government to the absolute minimum and only under prescribed conditions and procedures.
In addition, the Basic Law should be expected to build on the present systems so that personal freedoms are protected and not violated, democratic political practices consistent with social stability are encouraged in every way, and individuals are allowed to seek within the law whatever they wish to do in order to achieve a greater sense of personal fulfilment and happiness in life.
Towards this end, I would propose that all the provisions of the ‘International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights' and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' as applied to Hong Kong shall be incorporated as much as possible in the draft Basic Law, and that the two covenants be attached as annexes to the final Basic Law when passed by the National People's Congress in 1990.
Being a member of the OMELCO Constitutional Development Panel, I would hope that the panel's report coming out in the next few weeks on its deliberations of the draft Basic Law will be given wide publicity and studied by all those who are concerned with the future of Hong Kong.
Sir, I would now like to briefly comment on certain parts of the draft Basic Law.
Chapter 1: General Principles Article 4
If Hong Kong's existing capitalist system and way of life shall not be changed for 50 years, as stated in this article, it follows that China's socialist system and policies will have much to learn from Hong Kong's existing system, and will undergo changes in the years ahead as circumstances dictate.
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