TNAG-2778-FCO40-3995-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Basic-Law-1993 — Page 14

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China's sovereignty as a unitary state.

The NPC is the highest

organ of state power. Furthermore the application of the Constitution to the SAR is reflected in many provisions of the SAR especially in Chapters VII and VIII dealing with external affairs and interpretation and amendment of the Basic Law. Nonetheless, there must be some special features in the way that the Constitution is applied in the SAR. Firstly, the provisions of the Constitution regarding upholding the unified leadership of the Central Authorities, those relating to national defence and foreign affairs and others on upholding of state sovereignty unity and the territorial integrity of the country must all be applied in the SAR.

12. Another aspect (157-165) of the nature of the Basic Law of the SAR is that it is a national statute of China drawn up in accordance with the Constitution. It is also the basis for legislation in the SAR and the foundation on which the laws of the SAR are to be made. Basic statutes such as the Basic Law are inferior to no other law in China but the Constitution. It is not a local law although the special systems and policies to be practiced in Hong Kong as stipulated by the Basic Law can naturally only be applied within the limits of the SAR and not in other parts of China.

13. The final section (165-177) of this chapter contains discussion of some of the other general principles of the Basic Law including the protection of rights and freedoms, the ownership use of land and natural resources, the official language, the regional flag and emblem.

14. Chapter III of the book (178-267) covers the relationship between the

Central Authorities and the SAR divided broadly into 3 areas:

i)

ii)

Affairs pertaining to the state sovereignty and overall interests are administered by the Central Authorities and the SAR must be subordinate to the leadership of the Central Authorities in this case the relationship is one between leading and the led.

Local affairs of the SAR are to be administered by the SAR itself but some are subject to the supervision of the Central Authorities. In this case the relationship is one between supervised and supervising.

iii) All other local affairs are to be administered by the SAR

itself without interference by the Central Authorities.

15. The main provisions in this respect are set out in Chapter II of the Basic Law although many other chapters also contain relevant provisions. Those provisions set out in Chapter II should be regarded as the major ones. The nature of the relationship (183-197) between the SAR and Central Authorities is in essence the relationship between the central and local authorities under a unitary system and not one between the

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