TNAG-2573-FCO40-3759-Future-of-Hong-Kong-adaptation-of-laws-1992 — Page 5

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14

113776

MDLOAN 2396

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FM FCO

TO PRIORITY HONG KONG

TELNO 1667

OF 271836Z NOV 92

Hkc 370/17

INFO PRIORITY PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

A @

ла

Door?

YOUR TELNOS 2604, 2605 AND 2751: ADAPTATION OF LAWS: CROWN IN RELATION TO LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES

We have serious difficulties with your draft consultation paper on the Crown in relation to land and natural resources (second TUR). Our three main points are set out below.

2.

The effect of most of the proposed amendments in para 6 of the draft paper is that land now owned by the Crown in right of the Government of Hong Kong would be owned by the Government of Hong Kong. However in effect these are one and the same entity: no change would be brought about. Thus a) the provision in para 7 to the effect that references to the Government in relation to Land and natural resources do not mean that the land and natural

are the property of the Government, and b) the

statement that the Government is merely managing, using, developing, Leasing or granting land, would both contradict the amendments in para 6. This latter statement also does not really make sense: apart from anything else, if the Government is Leasing or granting land, this implies that it actually owns the Land.

3. The second problem concerns the reference in the Basic Law, Article 7 to ownership of land and natural resources in the Hong Kong SAR by the state. The proposed Ordinance would be in conflict with the Basic Law because, despite the amendment which would provide that the government does not own the land or natural resources but merely manages it etc., the fact is that the Hong Kong SAR Government would own the land after 1997 and not the PRC (given the intended change of meaning of quote Government unquote in the laws of Hong Kong from the Hong Kong Government to the Hong Kong SAR Government). In other words the Ordinance would be contrary to the Basic Law.

4.

Thirdly, there is a problem with Letters Patent XIII

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