RESTRICTED
has also been a very open one: the media have been kept briefed on discussion in the Drafting Committee and even on the progress of the
There has been a very free exchange of
draft as this has evolved.
views within the Committee.
13. As I have made clear, responsibility for the drafting and promulgation of the Basic Law, as of any other Chinese law, rests with the Central People's Government and the National People's Congress of China. But the provision of the Joint Declaration to which I have referred, linking the content of the Joint Declaration with that of the Basic Law, gives the British Government an explicit locus standi. We are entitled to satisfy ourselves that the Basic Law fully and accurately reflects the Joint Declaration of which we, with the Chinese Government, are co-signatories. And this we shall
do.
14.
an
The production of the first draft of the Basic Law is the outcome of considerable effort. The Joint Declaration itself was international instrument without precedent. Its provisions are now to be reflected in China's domestic law, giving assurance that for 50 years a dynamic, free-trading economy will retain a high degree of autonomy within a socialist state. The imaginative concept of "one country, two systems" is thus taking legal shape.
15.
it
Where the substance of the draft Basic Law is concerned, is a long and complex instrument. Much of it reproduces provisions of the Joint Declaration word for word: this is obviously reassuring. For the rest, we shall continue to study it carefully and to pay close attention to comments made on the draft, particularly in Hong Kong.
16.
I must stress that the Basic Law as now drafted is no more
than an initial text. It is not yet complete. Nor is it perfect,
as Chinese spokesmen readily acknowledge.
17.
We are now at the beginning of a lengthy period of consultation. The present draft, published on 28 April, will be open for comment for five months. During that period delegations of drafters from the mainland will visit Hong Kong for intensive
RESTRICTED
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.