Political situation
Written by: Wu Zhuoan
2020-04-19 12:50
Date of last update: 2020-04-19 13:32The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and the Liaison Office of the People ’s Republic of China recently suspended their high-profile statements in the Legislative Council. The community is concerned about whether the two offices are regulated by Article 22 of the Basic Law. The government responded to media inquiries at 7 o'clock last night (18th), stating that "the Liaison Office is one of the three institutions established by the Central Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under Article 22, paragraph 2 of the Basic Law", The office and its staff must comply with the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in accordance with Article 22, paragraph 3 of the Basic Law, but at about 11 pm, the government revised the press release to delete "based on Article 22 of the Basic Law" "The relevant provisions were changed to" The Liaison Office is one of the three institutions established by the Central Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region "and" The Liaison Office and its personnel must abide by the Basic Law and the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ", and will be published in the early morning. To add, reiterate that the Liaison Office is not "an institution established by various departments of the Central Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" within the meaning of Article 22, paragraph 2 of the Basic Law.
Twenty-two members of the Democratic Legislative Council issued a statement criticizing the Chief Executive Lin Zhengyue and the government's support of the Central Liaison Office for "distorting" the Basic Law, which was angry and strongly condemned. They presented three major pieces of evidence, pointing out that the government has repeatedly pointed out and recognized that Article 22 of the Basic Law applies to the Liaison Office.
The government published a draft in the early morning to add, reiterating that the Liaison Office is not "an institution established by various departments of the Central Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" within the meaning of Article 22, paragraph 2 of the Basic Law.
Democrats stated that the government has repeatedly pointed out and recognized that Article 22 of the Basic Law is applicable to the Central Liaison Office. Among them, in January 2007, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau submitted a document to the Legislative Council that referred to Article 22 of the Basic Law. Under the Articles, the Central Government has established three institutions in Hong Kong, one is the Liaison Office; the government gazetted on January 21, 2000, listing the institutions established by the central government in Hong Kong, the Liaison Office is on the list; 2018 The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Nie Dequan, addressed the Legislative Council and said, "We also believe that the Liaison Office will, as always, stipulate in accordance with Article 22 of the Basic Law and abide by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region."
The Democrats pointed out that Article 22 of the Basic Law clearly stipulates that it applies to the "departments" of the central government, criticizing the Liaison Office for wantonly distorting the Basic Law in order to rationalize its right to interfere in the internal affairs of Hong Kong. "Without any legal basis, the Put yourself above the law, undermine the rule of law, and treat the Basic Law and common sense like nothing. "
Democrats also criticized that the government issued three versions of the press release "Self Amendment" within six hours, describing the approach as "completely kneeling down" and "blindly echoing the position of the Central Liaison Office as a horse", criticizing Lin Zhengyue for failing to abide by the Basic Law, Also letting go of the will and dignity of Hong Kong as the chief executive of Hong Kong, "it is really a shame to sell 7.5 million Hong Kong people."
Luo Huining, Director of the Liaison Office (Photo / Photo by Ou Jiale)
The Hong Kong Government ’s late-night amendment no longer means that the Central Liaison Office was established by the Central Government in accordance with Article 22, paragraph 2 of the Basic Law
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The Liaison Council of the Pan-China Basic Law