TNAG-2721-FCO40-3927-Hong-Kong-elections-nationality-restrictions-1993 — Page 57

GOVERMENT HOUSE HONG KONG.

SECRET 高度機密

particular

Legco

case,

the onus

proceedings

proceedings

are

Member, or a group of Members. In either

will be on the individual initiating the

to prove that the Member(s) against whom the

directed is(are) non-Chinese, and that he

has (or they have) exceeded the 20% quota. when hearing

any

the

LegCo

the case, the Court, on the request of a party, may require

or all serving

Members to appear before it to

give evidence about their nationality. If at the end the

Court finds in favour of the applicant, then any vacancies

arising would be filled through by-elections. [We believe

Court is only empowered to make a ruling on Members who

are the subject of the relevant proceedings. In other

words, the Court may not make a declaration in respect of

other "non-Chinese" Members who are prima facie outside the

20% quota but who are not the subject of the proceedings

However, it would be open to any elector to

mount a separate court challenge against the latter.]

before it.

5.

The procedures described in paragraphs 3 and 4

above seem straightforward. In practice, things will get

much more complicated. In the absence of any established

(and published) criteria, statutory or otherwise, for

allocating the 20% quota, it would be extremely difficult

individual who initiates the legal

for either an

proceedings to

prove,

or for the Court to determine, who

CRET 高度機密