Accurate understanding of Basic Law urged
The legal head of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong has called for proper understanding of the Constitution and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, saying the Constitution is the legal basis for the Basic Law.
Wang Zhenmin, director of the Legal Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of Central People’s Government in the HKSAR, said it’s wrong to regard the Basic Law as a “mini-constitution” independent of the Constitution.
In his keynote speech at a forum themed on “one country, two systems” on Saturday in Hong Kong, he explained that promulgating the Basic Law is to bring Hong Kong into the country’s constitutional order and jurisdiction instead of making a new constitutional order for the city.
According to the Basic Law, Hong Kong can enact its own local laws and enjoy judicial independence. But that does not mean it can have its own constitution and build up another constitutional order that’s separate from the country’s, he said.
That vividly illustrates the “one country, two systems” principle, and bringing Hong Kong into the country’s constitutional order provides a solid guarantee for “one country, two systems”.
Wang urged Hong Kong people to learn more about, and respect the country’s constitutional order, rather than resist or go against it.
He stressed that the country’s constitutional order ensures the SAR’s long-term stability and prosperity, which Hong Kong people should safeguard and cherish.
Echoing Wang’s views, lawmaker Priscilla Leung Meifun said Hong Kong people should grasp a big picture of Hong Kong and the central government, and learn about the Basic Law by putting it into the context of the country’s constitutional order.
To help Hong Kong people see that big picture, promotion of the Basic Law should be conducted along with promoting the Constitution, said Leung, who is also a member of the Basic Law Committee under the country’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee.
Peking University law professor Rao Geping, who also attended the forum, said Hong Kong has been placed under the country’s overall jurisdiction since its return to the motherland in 1997. And such overall jurisdiction entails that the SAR is an integral part of the country’s constitutional order.
Rao noted that successful practice of the “one country, two systems” principle requires not only the Basic Law but also the Constitution.