Hong Kong's constitutional development is part of the internal
affairs of China, and the US government should respect this
position and should not interfere, said a spokesman of the Hong
Kong's Constitutional Affairs Bureau in Hong Kong
Saturday.??
In response to media inquiries on the US-HK Policy Act Report,
the spokesman said the central authorities and the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will deal with the
constitutional development according to the Basic Law.
"It is well recognized that 'One Country, Two Systems' in Hong
Kong is working well in practice and that people's rights and
freedoms continue to be upheld," said the spokesman.
"The international community should have faith that the HKSAR
government will continue to run Hong Kong in strict accordance with
the Basic Law," he said.
The spokesman said that the decision of the Standing Committee
of the National People's Congress (NPC)
to interpret the relevant provisions relating to issues of
legislative process in Annexes I and II of the Basic Law would help
Hong Kong resolve an important and practical issue, and allow us to
take forward the work relating to constitutional development.
He said, "Hong Kong's constitutional development involves the
relationship between the central authorities and the HKSAR, and
relates to the systems used to implement "One Country, Two Systems"
and the Basic Law. Therefore, the central authorities have powers
and responsibilities on matters relating to Hong Kong's
constitutional development."
The spokesman added that the interpretation will be made under
Article 158 of the Basic Law. There are divergent views in the Hong
Kong community on the interpretation of the provisions in the two
Annexes.
The interpretation by the NPC Standing Committee will help
clarify the views, put an end to disputes in the community, and
provide a firm foundation for the next stage of work, said the
spokesman.
He added that the Constitutional Development Task Force headed
by the chief secretary for administration published its report on
March 30, 2004 on issues of legislative process in the Basic Law
relating to constitutional development.
The Task Force report detailed the views of the HKSAR government
on these issues of legislative process. It also contained copies of
all written submissions received by the Task Force, and a summary
of views of different organizations and individuals the Task Force
had met with.
"The Task Force will next focus on the issues of principle. It
will publish a report on the outcome of its work in this respect in
due course," the spokesman said.
(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2004)