Co-location has ‘solid legal basis’
The co-location arrangement for the West Kowloon terminus of the Guangzhou-ShenzhenHong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) has solid legal basis, says Elsie Leung Oi-sie, deputy director of the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee.
Her remarks, made in an interview with China Daily, came after the country’s top legislature — the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) — approved the cooperation agreement between the Guangdong and Hong Kong governments late last year to set up a mainland port area at the XRL’s West Kowloon Station, saying it complies with both the nation’s Constitution and the Basic Law.
The NPCSC also urged the HKSAR Government to enact local legislation to implement the agreement.
Leung hit out at some people in Hong Kong, including many from the legal sector, who have questioned the legitimacy of the NPCSC decision and vowed to seek a judicial review of the co-location arrangement although it has been given the go-ahead by the country’s top legislature.
“The NPCSC decision has a strong legal basis and is, in no way, a rash decision. It’s not just anyone else who says it’s legal and constitutional. The legal basis and rationale are there, but some people are just unwilling to accept it,” she said.
“Those who oppose the project would also come up with various reasons if we had applied for Article 18 of the Basic Law to enforce a national law in Hong Kong, triggered Article 20 to increase the HKSAR’s powers, interpreted the Basis Law provisions or amended the Basic Law pursuant to Article 158 and 159.”
“It is simply because they refuse to accept the reality of Hong Kong’s reunification and economic integration into the country. Since the handover, we have a new constitutional order, yet whatever the SAR government proposes, they are not satisfied,” Leung said.
She added that although the NPCSC decision on the co-location arrangement is not a piece of law or an interpretation of the Basic Law, it carries legal effect.
“For people seeking a judicial review, I don’t know what arguments they will resort to. Yet, if they question the legality of the NPCSC decision, Hong Kong courts shall refuse to hear the case,” Leung predicts.