TNAG-2786-FCO40-4005-Hong-Kong-UK-Parliamentary-and-other-interest-in-constitutio-1993 — Page 68

TO MR. GOODLAD, U.K. MINISTER WITH SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR HONG KONG

We write to solemnly remind the Foreign Office of the British Government's obligations, both moral and legal, towards Hong Kong. She must honestly and effectively discharge them. In respect of political reform, the U.K. Government must ensure that the future political system:

1) complies with the provisions stipulated under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ("ICCPR"); and

2) is acceptable to the people of Hong Kong.

ICCPR

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UNOFFICIAL

TRANSLATION

Article 25 of the ICCPR stipulates that, inter alia, every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without distinction of any kind, such as political and other opinion, property, birth or other status, and without unreasonable restrictions, to vote and be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors.

In their public statement issued on 14 July 1992, the Hong Kong Bar Association said: "All elections to the Legislative Council must conform with the (ICCPR) and the Joint Declaration (and the) current system...do not conform..."

We must point out that the current, so-called, "functional constituency election system" is based on property, social and other status of a citizen. On one hand, it unreasonably restricts and deprives the majority of citizens of their right to vote and be elected.

On the other hand,

it confers political priviledges on a minority of citizens by giving them a large numbers of seats in the legislative. In so doing, the system completely violates the principles of "universal and equal suffrage" and the prohibitions on "unreasonable restrictions" stipulated under the ICCPR.

Article 26 of the ICCPR stipulates that, inter alia, all persons are equal before the law. When applied to election laws, this means "one man, one vote, one value", i.e. not only should every citizen have the right to vote, each vote should carry the same influence or weighting. This principle has long been established in the American courts (see Note 1). The current functional constituency election system in Hong Kong definitely contravenes Article 26.

Likewise, the so-called "election committee" proposed by the Chinese government under the Basic Law again breaches the provisions of the ICCPR. The proposal gives the committee members, an absolute minority, the right to "elect" a substantial number of legislators.

It is simply disgraceful that the British Government should turn a blind eye when the Chinese grossly violates the Joint Declaration in enacting the Basic Law. The Joint Declaration not only requires the SAR legislature to be elected, it also gives effect to the ICCPR post 1997, i.e. the future political system in Hong Kong must comply with the provisions of Articles 25 and 26 of the ICCPR. By turning a blind eye, the British Government failed to honour its moral and legal obligations towards Hong Kong people.

Indeed, it would be a complete scandal for the British Hong Kong Government to introduce, whether by way of Sino-British agreement or not, the "election committee" system in Hong Kong before 1997.

We also wish to remind the British Government that while "thru train" might be important, basic human rights are infinitely more important. If the "thru train" is to be had at the expense of the right to democracy, it is simply not worth it. On the other hand, if a legislator is elected under a system which complies with the provisions of the ICCPR, that legislator must be allowed on the "thru train".

We solemnly demand that the British Government not only make right the current system, it should never ever introduce any "new" system which contravenes the ICCPR.