TNAG-1752-FCO40-2472-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-debates-1988 — Page 64

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Basic Law falls short of Hong Kong Constitution

The Basic Law and the Hong Kong Constitution are two very different instruments in form and provenance. It would be very difficult to conduct an article by article comparison of the two.

Nevertheless both cover some of the same areas and the same key

provisions: the Hong Kong Constitution, through the Letters Patent deals with the constitution of the Executive and Legislative

Councils, for instance. The Basic Law likewise will deal with the

constitution of the Executive Assembly and the Legislature. The

Letters Patent deals with the appointment of judges, the Basic Law

will do likewise. It will be possible therefore to make direct

comparison in certain areas.

There are at present at work in Hong Kong various well

established practices which substantially affect the operation of

the formal written constitution and there is extensive consultation

with the community on all major issues of policy and the conduct of

the administration. It is these practices, this flexibility and

this willingness to consult the community which characterise Hong Kong's unique system of government and which have enabled the territory to prosper. It is a fundamental principle of the Joint Declaration that the capitalists system and life style of Hong Kong

shall remain unchanged for 50 years. And it is the purpose of the

Basic Law to implement the Joint Declaration and to put that

principle into practice. It is reasonable to expect therefore,

although the Basic Law may appear very different from the present

Constitution, the future system of government and administration in

the broadest sense will nevertheless be recognisable as an evolution

of the system which exists under the present Constitution.

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