1989 — Page 69

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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

Appendix 1

Basic Law blueprint

First legislature (1997)

27% directly elected

Second legislature (1999)

39% directly elected

Third legislature (2003)

50% directly elected*

First chief executive (1997)

Second chief executive (2002)

Elected by a 400-member election committee

Elected by an 800-member election committee*

Hong Kong Civic Association Proposals

50% directly elected

60%-65% directly elected

100% directly elected subject to a referendum (majority of registered voters who come out to vote) and by Legislature approving (two-thirds majority vote)

Elected by a grand electoral college of 800 members

Returned by universal suffrage from a slate of maximum 8 candidates nominated by an 800-member grand electoral college, each candidate to be nominated by not less than one-eighth of the electoral college

* The Basic Law blueprint proposes a referendum after 2007 to decide on universal suffrage in elections for the legislature and chief executive.

Constituency

Appendix 2

1991 Legislature Election

Population

Approximate No. of Registered Voters

Seats

Hong Kong East (Eastern and Wan Chai Districts)

732,800

224,612

2-3

Hong Kong West (Central and Western and Southern Districts)

538,700

128,989

2

Kwun Tong

665,100

183,730

2-3

Wong Tai Sin

389,100

145,690

2

Kowloon City

447,100

111,283

2

Sham Shui Po

406,900

114,499

2

Kowloon South (Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei)

338,200

106,274

2

New Territories East (North, Tai Po and Sha Tin)

769,500

188,724

2-3

New Territories West (Yuen Long and Tuen Mun)

520,000

150,056

2

New Territories South (Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing, Islands and Sai Kung)

797,900

220,195

2-3

Total

20-24

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

129

MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English):- Mr. Chairman, as you know, I am the Chairman of the Reform Club, now the oldest quasi-political association in Hong Kong. We in that club have devoted many hours to suggesting amendments to the first Draft of the Basic Law, originally prepared by a sub-committee appointed for that purpose, of which also I had the honour to be Chairman. Whilst some of our suggestions did appear in the second Draft, either as we suggested them or in a form which is at least better than the original form, many of our suggestions have apparently not been accepted. So, the Club, and I as its Chairman, are unwilling again to devote long hours in going through the Basic Law, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, like we did to the original Draft.

As we said, in a press release on the 20th April of this year, that fundamentally in the Reform Club's view, and I might say as I am the Chairman, the now proposed Basic Law is a fairly well drawn up document. The real cause of many of the present objections to the current draft of the Basic Law is on account of fear of China. The events of June and even more recently, have added another dimension to that fear. This is the uncertainty of whether even written words will be observed. Apparently, if it suits the Chinese Government, it will ignore its own constitution, by killing a lot of its own citizens who were, at the most, peacefully demonstrating. Still of course, we must get the best Basic Law that it is possible to get in those circumstances, and I am pleased to note that plans have already been approved by the UK Government to give Hong Kong a Bill of Rights.

First of all, the Basic Law must ensure that our courts, and especially the judges as the head of the courts, are completely separated from the executive and the legislative arms of the SAR Government. In this connection, we have a particular fear that the second sub-section of Article 89 could be used, if necessary, to remove any judge, including the Chief Justice, who gives any decision contrary to the wishes of either of the other two arms. It provides, or could be interpreted as providing, an alternative to Article 87 and 88 which are designed to control and, I think do effectively control, the power of dismissal of a judge or the Chief Justice. We recommend that this sub-paragraph be entirely erased. I do not really think that the general public, the man in the street, yet knows sufficiently, the importance to the well-being of Hong Kong under the SAR Government, of the independence of the judiciary. Real independence, not merely paying lip service to the concept, must entail security of office for a Judge.

Further, this independence of the judiciary must also be linked with the ability of the judges of Hong Kong to interpret the Basic Law in a final manner, otherwise than as regards defence or foreign relations. That again must be enshrined in an amended Article 157 of the Basic Law whatever the difficulties.

I am also most disturbed over the possibility that any declaration of Martial Law would effectively put an end to the Whole Basic Law. This is already provided for in the last paragraph of Article 18, which says:

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