Basic Law guarantees prosperity, stability
China Daily  Updated: 2005-04-05 06:40

The Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR was promulgated 15 years ago and has been implemented for almost eight years since July 1, 1997. The 15 years' history of the SAR's mini constitution has been a convincing proof that it is indeed a ground-breaking masterpiece and a piece of legislation that has far-reaching historical and international implications.

Since its creation and implementation, the Basic Law has brought about the successful return of the SAR to its motherland, and proven itself to be the "guardian angel" of Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability.

Since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the SAR government and the local community, with the central government's support, have spared no effort in putting the Basic Law into practice and working together to tackle a series of major political, economic and social problems, thereby sustaining the city's prosperity and stability.

As a result, Hong Kong has been able to preserve its capitalistic society, economy, legal system and lifestyle, and its people have been able to enjoy an extent of rights and freedom that is greater than before 1997, as well as democratic rights that were never granted before.

During this period, more than 100,000 Hongkongers who had emigrated have returned to the territory and thousands of multi-national corporations have chosen the SAR as the base of their regional operation. Hong Kong has further strengthened its role as the bridge for foreign investors to tap into the mainland market and entrenched its status as the freest economy and the best business location in the world.

Certainly, the implementation of the "one country, two systems" blueprint, an unprecedented undertaking, has inevitably been an arduous process of exploration. Over the past eight years, its implementation has undergone obvious shifts of emphasis: from "two systems" to "one country"; from "rights" to "obligations"; and from "separation" to "integration." These three major changes indicate that Hong Kong people's understanding of the Basic Law has improved in terms of both depth and breadth.

In implementing the Basic Law, the local society has gradually changed from emphasizing "two systems" to stressing "one country." According to the mini constitution, the Hong Kong SAR is a local administrative region directly under the jurisdiction of the central government, and its high degree of autonomy derives from Beijing. It is, therefore, not conducive to the maintenance of the SAR's prosperity and stability in the long-run if Hongkongers tend to refer to "two systems" and not "one country."

This paradigm shift is evident in Hong Kong society's familiarization process with the power of the National People's Congress Standing Committee to interpret the Basic Law. In the present row over the new chief executive's tenure, for instance, there is a growing voice in society calling for the NPCSC to step in and give its interpretation to provisions central to the argument. There is an increasing realization among the local populace that the NPCSC's power to interpret the Basic Law, which is a key component of the constitutional regime prescribed by the mini constitution, will do Hong Kong only good and no harm.

The second change in emphasis refers to the local community's tendency in the past to talk about "rights" and not "obligations." The most glaring example is the obsession with the freedom of demonstration and assembly. With instigation by certain politicians, this obsession has led to numerous marches and protests in the city, which has come to be called "the capital of demonstrations" by foreign media.

Fortunately, with deepening understanding of the Basic Law, Hong Kong people have come to realize the importance of social responsibility in preserving stability. They are tired of incessant turmoil, quibbling and dissension. Their consensus now is to seek development, stability and harmony. This development has everything to do with a growing sense of responsibility and obligations in the community.

Finally, we have seen the shift from stressing "isolation" to underlining "integration." Hong Kong used to adopt an attitude of isolation in the face of economic integration with the mainland. Underscoring the "border" concept, it worried that integration might have a negative impact on the local economy and blur the boundary and hence the differences between the two systems.

Yet, with the Individual Travel Scheme, CEPA and the Pan-Pearl River Delta co-operation falling respectively into place, Hong Kong people have soon recognized that the quickened pace of economic amalgamation across the border is a guarantee for Hong Kong's economic prosperity and the trend for future development. Cross-border economic integration will not erase Hong Kong's characteristics. On the contrary, it will give fuller play to the SAR's advantages and uniqueness and sharpen its economic competitiveness.

The above three transformations in Hong Kong society during the Basic Law's implementation have attested to the fact that the mini constitution has gradually sunken in, and is being implemented with a fuller and deeper understanding.

(China Daily 04/05/2005 page6)

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