01 point of view
Written by: Review Editor
2020-05-22 08:58
Last update date: 2020-05-22 09:00Legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law is Hong Kong ’s constitutional responsibility, but the Hong Kong government has not promoted legislation since 2003, allowing the gap to exist. Caused by the Hong Kong government.
During the tenure of the first Chief Executive, Dong Jianhua, he enacted legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law. As we all know, the legislative work eventually hit the rocks, causing great controversy in the society. However, it was one thing that the legislative work did not receive enough support from the members of the Legislative Council at that time. It does not mean that Hong Kong does not need or should not enact legislation on Article 23. In fact, just as the government repeatedly revised the draft after extensive consultations with the Bar Association and other opinions, it showed that Article 23 legislation can seek common ground while reserving differences. Under the full protection of the rights of Hong Kong people, legislation to split the country and subvert the central government is prohibited. .
However, since the failed attempt in 2003, successive governments have been allowed to do so, and they have not promoted Article 23 legislation, which is quite irresponsible. Zeng Yinquan didn't do it, Liang Zhenying didn't do it, and Lin Zhengyue didn't do it, and it finally became the situation that the central government has shot.
After the Central Government announced the legislative news of the "Hong Kong version of the National Security Law" on Thursday (May 21), Liang Zhenying, currently the vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, publicly stated that Article 23 of the Basic Law has not been able to legislate, and the situation in Hong Kong has risen in the past few years Changes require national security laws to prohibit related actions. But what Liang Zhenying did not say is that Hong Kong currently does not have the relevant legislation in Article 23 of the Basic Law, and he has also contributed. At the beginning of his appointment in 2012, the then Secretary of Justice Yuan Guoqiang told the media that Liang Zhenying clearly pointed out to him that there was no need to legislate on Article 23 during his tenure, and repeatedly ensured that Article 23 was not included in his five-year work plan.
In 2014, Wang Zhenmin, the dean of the School of Law of Tsinghua University, proposed at the Beijing seminar that he should legislate on Article 23 of the Basic Law. However, Liang Zhenying reiterated that there was no plan and no timetable for legislation. At that time, the security chief Li Dongguo said that the government had to deal with many issues urgently. Article 23 legislation has not been dealt with.
Although Liang Zhenying has repeatedly stated that Article 23 legislation is a constitutional responsibility, for example, in response to the DQ storm in November 2016, he said that Article 23 "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region should legislate on its own" "shall" means that Hong Kong is responsible Legislation prevents acts such as splitting the country and treason, and "self-regulation" means that Hong Kong does not adopt national laws, so it is necessary to make legislation by itself. But in fact, he not only did not promote the legislative work, but also made no mention of Article 23 legislation in his "Administrative Policy Report". He never fulfilled the so-called constitutional responsibility.
As for the current Lin Zhengyue, she is more "active" than Liang Zhenying. For example, in the first two Policy Addresses of 2017 and 2018, she also pointed out that the SAR Government has a constitutional responsibility to enact legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law to protect the country. The safety of the government means that the government will "review the situation and act cautiously" and "create a social environment conducive to legislation." But the so-called creating environment seems to have more slogans than substantive work. Even in the third Policy Address last year, it no longer mentioned Article 23 legislation. Lin Zheng also admitted in the press conference that the term of office has already reached half of its term. "The chance of doing another very controversial job is really low, so I made this statement," which is equivalent to giving up legislation during this term.
The government has always used the pretext of time and controversy to shirk its responsibility. However, legislation for Article 23 of the Basic Law is not only a constitutional responsibility of Hong Kong, but also meets the needs and ethics of "one country". It should never be Whether to establish or not to establish, is a question of when to establish and how to establish. The Hong Kong government should cherish this autonomous space, take the initiative to carry out discussions and extensive consultations, and may even draw on the results of the consultations of that year to improve the bill on that basis to take care of the concerns of the public about the protection of human rights and freedoms while fulfilling constitutional responsibilities.
Now that the Central People's Republic of China has enacted a national security law for Hong Kong, whose mediocrity and incompetence is the greatest responsibility? The answer is self-evident.
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01 point of view
01 Viewpoint Basic Law Basic Law 23 Hong Kong version of the National Security Law Government