Postponement of Legislative Council Election｜The establishment of the Provisional Legislative Council vs. the extension of the current parliament sees the pros and cons of the two options

Political situation

Written by: Zheng Rongdi and Liao Shuyi

2020-08-05 11:33

The Hong Kong government quoted the "Emergency Law" to postpone the Legislative Council elections for one year and asked the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to make a decision on the legislative council vacuum period. Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, recently came to Hong Kong to meet with the establishment parties to listen to opinions on resolving the vacuum period. In the past few days, there have been divergent opinions in the political circles. The proposals can be divided into two categories. One is to refer to the establishment of a provisional legislature before the reunification; the other is to extend the membership of the current legislative council for one year.

Based on the opinions of political circles and scholars, both proposals may be in conflict with the Basic Law, because Article 68 of the Basic Law stipulates the election method of the Legislative Council and Article 69 stipulates that the Legislative Council shall be held every four years. Those who support the renewal of the current Legislative Council for one year believe that the plan is more pragmatic and has the lowest cost, and the four incumbent members of the democratic camp who were previously disqualified from running for election have a greater chance of being renewed.

On the contrary, if the central government decides to establish a provisional legislature, it may appoint new members to the bureau, and the 4 DQ members will be rejected.

Liu Zhaojia hopes that in the end there will be no need to deal with the vacuum period in the way of interpretation by the National People's Congress and reduce disputes. (Information Picture/Photo by Chen Zhuohui)

National People's Congress makes "Decision" to set up Provisional Legislative Council to exempt the National People's Congress from interpretation

Liu Zhaojia, the vice chairman of the National Hong Kong and Macau Research Association, estimates that the most likely reason is that the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress will formulate a new "Decision". Before 1997, because China and Britain could not reach a "through train" plan for the transition of the legislature, Beijing established the Provisional Legislative Council as a blueprint. Members of the Provisional Legislative Council can be appointed by appointment or by election by the Election Committee to give the formal legislative powers and functions.

Liu Zhaojia pointed out that another plan, that is, if the National People's Congress decides to extend the current legislative council to five years, it is in conflict with the four-year term of the Legislative Council stipulated in the Basic Law. He hopes that ultimately it will not be dealt with by the National People's Congress interpretation. The problem of the vacuum period reduces disputes.

Opponents questioned making constitutional arrangements more complicated　

However, some opponents believe that in the 23 years since the return of Hong Kong, the operation of the Legislative Council has been standardized, and the establishment of the Provisional Legislative Council will only make the constitutional arrangements more complicated. The former Chairman of the Legislative Council, Jasper Tsang, questioned that the establishment of a provisional legislature is also inconsistent with the Basic Law, because Article 68 of the Basic Law states that the election of the Legislative Council cannot be violated.

Liu Zhaojia estimated that if the central government establishes a provisional legislature, it is very likely that new members will be appointed to replace some opposition members, which means that the four legislative members who are elected by the DQ will not be able to extend their posts.

Tan Yaozong said that before this round of election, the status of the incumbent member of the DQ was embarrassing. (Profile picture)

Lam Cheng, Jasper Tsang, and scholars tend to continue the Legislative Council for another year: low practical costs

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said earlier that she personally thinks that the most pragmatic approach is to extend the current Legislative Council for one year, and that the current democratic legislators of the DQ can return to Parliament as members of the current Legislative Council. Tian Feilong, an associate professor at the School of Law of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a director of the National Hong Kong and Macau Research Association, also supports the plan.

Regarding Article 69 of the Basic Law stipulating that the Legislative Council shall be held every four years, Tian Feilong pointed out that the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress may refer to the 2005 NPC’s interpretation of the term of the Chief Executive, and make a "decision" on the term of the Legislative Council, stating that it was in response to abnormal conditions. Circumstances extend the term of the Legislative Council one piece to avoid a power vacuum.

Jasper Tsang also agreed that the simplest way is to extend the appointment of current members. He said that the government can use one year to refer to the practices of other countries and regions, and to study methods such as overseas voting to ensure that elections are held as scheduled after one year.

Four people including the Citizen Party Yang Yueqiao and Guo Rongkeng were DQ. (Profile picture)

Can I be extended by a DQ member? Organization: contradictory

However, Carrie Lam’s personal opinions seem to be at odds with the mainstream of the establishment. Tan Yaozong, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, stated that some people were found to be ineligible to stand for election. If they were allowed to extend for one year, they would have conflicts and "embarrassing positions," even referring to the original team. It is the Hong Kong government's idea to extend any year. It is unknown whether the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress views the issue in the same way.

Former member Xie Weijun believes that no matter how the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress handles it, the current members of the DQ who are elected by the Returning Officer should not return to Parliament. He suggested that the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress could "attach conditions" later to allow the current legislators to extend their posts and screen out those who do not meet the conditions.

Tan Zhiyuan advocates the "Transitional Legislative Council" Members take another oath

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress will meet in Beijing on Saturday (8th) and will deal with the vacuum period. At present, the mainstream of the establishment mostly supports the establishment of a provisional legislature and opposes the renewal of the "DQ4". However, some more moderate establishments have also proposed "middle "The plan includes the former Secretary of the Constitution and Mainland Affairs, Tan Zhiyuan, proposed to establish a "transitional legislature" composed of incumbent members, and continue to process the unfinished drafts and funding applications of the sixth legislative council, and those who were eligible for election by DQ earlier The current MPs only need to be sworn in again.

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