TNAG-1863-FCO40-2643-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Basic-Law-1989 — Page 7

-

-

provision

for

accountability is

An

(ii) Additional

provided by

Article 72(9) which relates to impeachment.

However, although that Article provides for the Central People's Government deciding what to do when the Legislative Council passes a motion of impeachment, the Basic Law is silent as to any requirement that the Chief Executive shall vacate his office if the Central People's Government endorses the motion. express provision (possibly in Article 52) requiring the Chief Executive to vacate office in that event would appear to be desirable. In this

connection it is also noted that the 1989 draft makes no provision for enforcing the resignation of a Chief Executive if, notwithstanding Article 52(1), he refuses to resign even though he no longer has the ability

to discharge his could be rectified by an additional ground of resign despite the Chief Executive's inability to discharge his duties.

functions.

adding to Article 72 (9)

This

omission

impeachment: refusal to

(c)

Economic and Trade Policies

A

The second sentence of Section VI of Annex I to the Joint Declaration provides that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region "shall decide its

economic and trade policies on its own". provision

to this effect as regards external trade was apparently included in working drafts of the Special Group on the Economy up to December 1987, but is omitted from the published texts of April 1988 and February 1989. The Omission of a provision reflecting the passage

constitutes

Declaration.

quoted

above

a departure from

the

Joint

A

possible solution would

be to