Lam urges respect for constitutional order

Hong Kong must respect the constitutional order under “one country” while upholding its common law system under “two systems”, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Tuesday.

Lam, meeting the media before the weekly Executive Council meeting, made the remarks in response to the city’s continuing debate on the constitutionality of the joint-checkpoint arrangement for the West Kowloon terminus of the GuangzhouShenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.

The country’s top legislature — the National People’s Congress Standing Committee — endorsed the co-location arrangement on Dec 27, saying that it fully complies with the nation’s Constitution and the Basic Law.

The NPCSC decision provides a solid constitutional and jurisprudential basis for the co-location arrangement, she said.

Hong Kong must respect the constitutional framework and constitutional order under “one country, two systems”, Lam stressed.

The rule of law is one of the city’s core values; therefore the government would continue to safeguard it unswervingly, Lam said.

Rule of law, under the “one country, two systems” principle, includes both the common law system and the country’s constitutional framework, she explained.

The co-location arrangement lets passengers enjoy a one-stop customs and immigration clearance process at the West Kowloon terminus.

At a separate occasion, Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan said the bill to enact the arrangement is near completion. The government plans to table it to the city’s legislature between the end of this month and early next month.

Meeting reporters at the Legislative Council Complex, the transport chief estimated it would take LegCo about two and a half months to finish deliberating on the bill before reaching a final deal. This was based on previous experience with a similar bill for the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint.

Chan also expressed his hope the bill will have a green light soon so the Hong Kong section of the XRL can start operating in the third quarter of this year.

In addition to the co-location matter, Lam discussed the controversy surrounding new Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah having unauthorized building works in her home.

The CE said she saw no problems with Cheng’s integrity; the incident would not compromise Cheng’s position as justice chief.

Lam praised Cheng for giving up a successful legal career to join the government. The CE said the decision could only be made with one purpose — “to serve the people of Hong Kong and to serve the country”.

Lam, expressing full confidence on Cheng’s future performance, asked people to give Cheng some time and space to sort out this problem.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuetngor told the media on Tuesday that the special administrative region government could present the draft bill on the Express Rail Link co-location arrangement to the Legislative Council as early as later this month. The co-location arrangement legislation is the final step toward fully allowing the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong XRL to serve its purpose as originally planned, helping Hong Kong to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development. Since LegCo approved a previous bill of the same nature 10 years ago, letting Hong Kong’s law-enforcement departments operate according to relevant Hong Kong laws at Shenzhen Bay port alongside their mainland counterparts, there is no good reason for lawmakers not to pass the bill this time.

The XRL will give Hong Kong residents convenient access to the expanding highspeed railway network across the mainland and greatly facilitate their pursuit of a better future with mainland compatriots. That is why co-location has won overwhelming support from Hong Kong society since the beginning. Right now the construction of the XRL terminus in West Kowloon is near completion and people cannot wait for it to begin service. However, the opposition parties have gone out of their way to delay the project as long as they can and the colocation arrangement bill will be an opportunity for them to try and delay it one last time before LegCo votes on it.

Their main argument so far has been that the co-location arrangement violates Article 18 of the Basic Law, which stipulates that no national laws shall be applied in the HKSAR except those listed in Annex III of the Basic Law. Even after the National People’s Congress Standing Committee determined last month that the co-location arrangement complies with the nation’s Constitution and the HKSAR Basic Law, the opposition still refuse to abandon their groundless assumption. If they go ahead with planned filibustering of the co-location arrangement bill when the day comes, it would qualify as not only snubbing the Hong Kong public but also challenging the constitutional authority of the NPCSC.

As Lam also pointed out, when Hong Kong maintains its rule of law and the common law system it must also respect the country’s constitutional framework and the constitutional order. And the NPCSC’s conclusion that the co-location arrangement complies with the country’s Constitution and the SAR’s Basic Law has sufficient jurisprudential ground. That could be taken as a warning to the opposition camp that challenging the NPCSC decision over the colocation arrangement by filing for judicial review with the courts would constitute disrupting the constitutional order and forcing the highest institution of State power to interpret the Basic Law.