TNAG-2158-FCO40-3078-Hong-Kong-nationality-package-Chinese-views-1990 — Page 191

三

E

BILL OF RIGHTS

CONFIDENTIAL

7.

The Joint Declaration and the draft Basic Law provide for the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

(ICESCR) to remain in force after 1997. As a confidence building

measure following Tiananmen Square, Hong Kong Government are

introducing a Bill of Rights which will enshrine the ICCPR.

Although the Chinese have made critical comments publicly to the

effect that the Bill must not contravene the Basic Law, they have

not made representations to us. We have kept them informed of our

intentions through the margins of the Joint Liaison Group and they

have indicated that they are content to see a copy of the

consultative document a few days before it is published in Hong

Kong. The draft Bill of Rights is almost ready for publication.

The outstanding element is how to ensure that the Bill is

sufficiently robust and durable without involving entrenchment

provisions which the Chinese could claim were contrary to the Basic

Law. We expect to be able to find a solution which will not lay us open to this charge. There may be some criticism in Hong Kong that the Bill is not entrenched or "supreme". But the point to get

across is that the rights themselves are entrenched as such in the

JD and Basic Law.

Hong Kong Department

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

25 January 1990

MAXAEW (6)

CONFIDENTIAL