TNAG-1755-FCO40-2475-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Parliamentary-debates-1988 — Page 148

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CONFIDENTIAL

FM HONG KONG

TO DESKBY 14153OZ FCO

TELNO 2721

OF 141415Z JULY 88

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INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

BASIC LAW LEGCO DEBATE (13-14 JULY)

SUMMARY

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DEBATE DULY HELD ON 13-14 JULY. 28 MEMBERS SPOKE. CONCERNS

FOCUSSED ON ARTICLES 16-18, 169 AND ARTICLES ON HUMAN RIGHTS. MOST MEMBERS CONSIDERED POLICY STATEMENTS IN CHAPTER V UNDESIRABLE BUT WONG PO-YAN REMAINED DEFENSIVE. COMPOSITION AND WORK OF THE BASIC LAW COMMITTEE ALSO RAISED. DIVERGENT VIEWS ON POLITICAL SYSTEM. IN CLOSING THE DEBATE, CS ENCOURAGED THE PUBLIC TO MAKE KNOWN THEIR VIEWS ON THE BASIC LAW AND URGED ALL CONCERNED TO REACH THE MAXIMUM

AMOUNT OF COMMON GROUND. MOTION WAS PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

DETAIL

2.

THE 2-DAY DEBATE WAS OPENED BY MISS LYDIA DUNN INTRODUCING THE

MOTION AS REPORTED IN OUR TELNO 2631. MAIN POINTS RAISED AT THE

DEBATE ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN PARAGRAPHS 3-17 BELOW.

''ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS''

3.

CONCEPT

MISS DUNN EMPHASISED THAT THE BL SHOULD GIVE EFFECT TO THE CONCEPTS OF ''ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS'' AND ''HONG KONG PEOPLE RULING HONG KONG'' WHICH CONSTITUTED THE SPIRIT OF THE JD. HO KAM-FAI SAID THAT THE STIPULATION OF THE ''ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS'' CONCEPT IN THE PREAMBLE OF THE DRAFT BL WOULD NOT CONTRIBUTE MUCH TO MAINTAINING CONFIDENCE IN HONG KONG, AS IT WAS STILL UNCERTAIN WHETHER THE PREAMBLE WOULD HAVE LEGAL FORCE. HE SUGGESTED THAT THIS IMPORTANT CONCEPT SHOULD BE PROVIDED FOR IN CHAPTER I OF THE BL INSTEAD.

ARTICLE 16 : REVOCATION OF SAR LAWS

4. SEVERAL MEMBERS COMMENTED THAT THE PROVISION IN ARTICLE 16 WOULD GIVE THE PRC TOO MUCH POWER TO INTERFERE WITH THE AFFAIRS OF THE SAR, THUS CONTRAVENING THE JD. SOME MEMBERS SUGGESTED THAT THE NPC

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