TNAG-2715-FCO40-3921-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1993 — Page 36

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på FAC (511/8)

(forwarded in PRU)

195

18 October 1993

The Chairman and Members

Foreign Affairs Committee Parliament

U.K.

c/o Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

Hong Kong Government

Attn: Ms Winnie Ho, Public Relations Advisor

Dear Sirs:

SUOL AULSIO

MKD 011 /8

Direct Elections for Legislative, Urban, Regional Councils and District Boards

Members of the FAC, welcome to Hong Kong.

We trust that, apart from the sightseeing tours organized by various government organs and business tycoons in Hong Kong, you might still have a little time left for some real business. As such, we would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to one of the most important treaty obligations of the U.K. Government in this century. By that, we are sure you know we are referring to the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

*NI

Under Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a UN covenant annexed to the Joint Declaration, the right of citizens in Hong Kong to participate in public affairs through elections organized on the basis of universal and equal suffrage is guaranteed. This, coupled with the right to equality before the law stipulated under Article 26, mean that all elections to the above captioned forums of public affairs must be based on the principle of "one man one vote one value".

In view of the foregoing, numerous prominent law-related bodies in Hong Kong, among them the Bar Council and Justice (Hong Kong), have publicly condemned the so-called functional constituency elections as undemocratic and unlawful under the Bill of Rights Ordinance (which is essentially the ICCPR written into Hong Kong laws). The Bar Council made it crystal clear what the British Government should do to recticy the situation when it said: "In order to properly comply with the Joint Declaration, the British Government should now accept in full the provisions of Article 25 of the ICCPR".

You are therefore reminded that the only legitimate and honourable position the British Government should take in the current Sino-British talks on political reforms in Hong Kong is to insist on full direct elections to the above captioned Councils and District Boards. To accept anything less would be plainly disgraceful and dishonourable for the British Government and would certainly be looked down upon by the international community as a complete failure of the British Government to honour its treaty obligations.

We look forward to your prompt assurance that the British Government would not agree to any electoral arrangements that fall short of full direct elections for the above captioned Councils (in 1995) and District Boards (in 1994).

Regards,

UNITED

ANTS

Yours faithfully,

高重忠

Ko, PiNG CHUNG, Secretary

United Ants

24D, Block 1, Sceneway Garden, Lam Tin, Hong Kong

Tel: 379-5991; Fax: 379-5935; Pager: 1168298 a/c 1112

蟻聯

***United Ants is a commoners human rights group in Hong Kong****