TNAG-2168-FCO40-3105-House-of-Commons-Foreign-Affairs-Committee-inquiry-into-Hong-1990 — Page 221

CONFIDENTIAL

of the NPC and of the Legislative Council and Chief Executive of the

Hong Kong SAR before being submitted to the NPC. The Committee also

took the view that the final paragraph of Article 158 of the draft

Basic Law (Article 159 in the final version) should be amended so as

to make clear that the reference in that Article to "the established

basic policies of the PRC regarding Hong Kong" are those set out in

the Joint Declaration (paragraph 2.14). The enacted text of the

Basic Law does not contain such a provision though proposals for

amendment which emanate from the SAR are required to have the prior

consent of two thirds of the SAR's deputies to the NPC, two thirds

of the members of the Legislative Council and the Chief Executive.

No such prior consent is required for proposals for amendments which

emanate from the Standing Committee or the State Council. However,

the Basic Law does provide, as regards all proposals for amendment,

that before any bill is put on the agenda of the National People's

Congress, the Basic Law Committee of the SAR (half of the members of

which, as noted in paragraph 4 above, are to come from Hong Kong)

shall study it and submit its views. The reference to "basic

policies" in Article 159 reflects the reference in the Preamble

where it is made clear that those are the policies elaborated in the

Joint Declaration.

ACTIONS WITHIN HONG KONG

Constitutional Development

11.

The Committee recommended that full democracy should be

introduced before 1997 and that, consistent with maintaining a

necessary degree of continuity, should be introduced as soon as possible (paragraph 3.10). At the same time the Committee also took

the view that Hong Kong people must be allowed to decide on their own system of government before as well as after 1997.

12. The Government's aim throughout has been to establish in Hong

Kong before 1997 a system of government which includes a substantial

element of democracy and which can endure and further develop after

1997. When the Joint Declaration was signed in 1984, there was no

CATAAU (5)

CONFIDENTIAL