The Draft Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China for Solicitation of Opinions

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law Volume 20 | Issue 1 1988 The Draft Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China for Solicitation of Opinions Hong Kong SAR Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/jil Part of the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Hong Kong SAR, The Draft Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China for Solicitation of Opinions, 20 Case W. Res. J. Int'l L. 301 (1988) Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/jil/vol20/iss1/14 This Transcript is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Journals at Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law by an authorized administrator of Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons. APPENDIX The Draft Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China for Solicitation of Opinions* Table of Contents Preamble Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6 Chapter V Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6 Section 7 Chapter VI General Principles .............................. Relationship Between the Central Authorities and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.. Fundamental Rights and Duties of the Residents Political Structure .............................. The Chief Executive ... ................. The Executive Authorities .................... The Legislature .............................. Judicial Organs .............................. District Organizations ........................ Public Servants .............................. Econom y ...................................... Public Finance and Taxation ................. Money and Finance .......................... External Trade and Economic Relations ...... Industry, Commerce, and Other Trades ....... Land Leases ................................. Shipping ..................................... Civil Aviation ................................ Education, Science, Culture, Sports, Religion, Labour, and Social Services ..................... 302 303 304 308 311 311 316 317 320 323 323 325 325 326 327 328 328 329 330 332 * Issued by the Drafting Committee for the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, April 1988. The introduction and summary compiled by the Secretariat of the Consultative Committee for the Basic Law have been omitted. The text was provided by the Hong Kong Economic Affairs Office, New York, New York. CASE W. RES. J. INT'L LV Chapter VII Chapter VIII Chapter IX Chapter X Annex I Vol. 20:301 External Affairs ................................ The Regional Flag and Regional Emblem ....... Interpretation and Amendment of the Basic Law Supplementary Provisions ...................... Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ...... Annex II Method for Constituting the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Annex III Method for the Formation of the First Government and the First Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region A Collection of Opinions and Suggestions of Some Members in Regard to the Articles Drafted by Their Respective Special Subject Subgroups ............................................. 335 337 338 339 340 344 348 352 PREAMBLE Hong Kong has been part of China's territory since ancient times, but it was occupied by Britain after the Opium War in 1840. On 19 December 1984, the Chinese and British governments signed the Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong, affirming that the Government of the People's Republic of China will resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong on 1 July 1997, thus fulfilling the long-cherished common aspiration of the entire Chinese people for the recovery of Hong Kong. In order to uphold national unity and territorial integrity and to maintain Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, and taking account of the history of Hong Kong and its realities, the People's Republic of China has decided that upon China's resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will be established in accordance with the provisions of Article 31 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and that under the principle of "one country, two systems", socialist system and policies will not be practised in Hong Kong. The basic policies of the People's Republic of China regarding Hong Kong have been elaborated by our government in the Sino-British Joint Declaration. In accordance with the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, the National People's Congress hereby enacts the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, prescribing the systems to be practised in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, in order to ensure the implementation of the basic policies of the People's Republic of China regarding Hong Kong. 1988"] DRAFT BASIC LAW OF HONG KONG CHAPTER I: GENERAL PRINCIPLES Article 1 The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China. Article 2 The National People's Congress authorizes the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to exercise a high degree of autonomy in accordance with the provisions of this Law and to enjoy executive, legislative and independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication. Article 3 The executive authorities and legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be composed of permanent residents of Hong Kong in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Law. Article 4 Socialist system and policies shall not be practised in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the existing capitalist system and way of life shall not be changed for 50 years. Article 5 The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region safeguards the rights and freedoms of the residents and other persons in the Region in accordance with law. Article 6 Rights of property ownership, including those relating to acquisition, use, disposal, inheritance and compensation for lawful take over [sic] shall be protected by law. The compensation for lawful takeover shall be corresponding to the real value of the property concerned, freely convertible and paid without undue delay. Article 7 The land and natural resources within the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are the state property of the People's Republic of China. The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be responsible for their management, use and development and for their lease or grant to individuals or legal persons for use or development. The revenue derived shall b (...truncated)