TNAG-1722-FCO40-2415-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Basic-Law-1988 — Page 201

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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ·

14 July 1988

destroyed the system and tradition of independent adjudication exercised by the courts of Hong Kong.

Fourthly, on the power of final adjudication, article 169 says that the HKSAR cannot interpret provisions of the Basic Law concerning defence, foreign affairs and other affairs, so a problem arises. If we have a prosecution, who will decide which cases involve interpretation of the provisions of the Basic Law and who will decide whether it is necessary to ask the Central People's Government to provide us with an interpretation? In the end we will ask the NPC to be responsible for these cases and so the NPC will have to examine each and every case in different courts in Hong Kong. Even if such a situation does not arise, the defence and prosecution can always make use of this article and wrongly allege that the case involves interpretation of the Basic Law to delay the litigation process; so in the end we will again have to ask the NPCSC to have a judgment over the case, so the result will be seriously undermining the power of final adjudication.

In summary, although China has promised Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy, according to the draft Basic Law this promise is subject to many limitations, so if we do not properly amend these articles, the prospects of Hong Kong are really worrying.

Now I would like to turn to the question of political structure. Firstly, we must understand that the design of political structure concerns not only the formation of certain organs; it is also something concerning the division of power and the inter-relationship among different organs. Unfortunately, Chapter IV of the draft Basic Law does not deal with the relationship between the Chief Executive and the executive authorities. Neither does it deal with the relationship between the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council. Instead, the selection of the Chief Executive and the formation of the Legislative Council are treated in different chapters. There are lots of alternatives concerning these two items but whichever alternative you opt for we will still be unable to guarantee that the Chief Executive will get the support of over half of the Legislative Councillors for his policies.

In order to ensure smooth operation of our Government in future, we must make sure that the Chief Executive must have the support of the legislature. So I think one of the feasible methods is to elect the Chief Executive among the Legislative Councillors. If we follow such a method, the Chief Executive will get the approval of over half of the legislature and he will be sure that his policies will get the support of most of the Councillors. I believe that only with sincere co-operation between the Executive and the Legislative Councils can we have stability and prosperity.

Sir, now I will talk about the execution of political power by our youth. Article 25 says that only people reaching the age of 21 have the right to vote and the right to stand for election. Although this is our existing practice, this has been a subject of heated debate. A lot of people argue for maintaining the legal