| Government response to media enquiries on CE Election Bill |
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In response to media enquiries on whether the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has exchanged views with the Central People's Government (CPG) with regard to the Chief Executive (CE) Election Bill, a spokesman for the Constitutional Affairs Bureau today (July 10) said:
"Under the Basic Law (BL), the HKSAR enjoys a high degree of autonomy. BL 17 provides that the HKSAR has legislative power. BL 73 also empowers the Legislative Council to enact or amend laws in accordance with the BL. Nevertheless, BL 15 and BL 45 require the CE be appointed by the CPG. Hence, we need to exchange views with the CPG in order to ensure that our electoral arrangement dovetails with the CPG's appointment process. In essence, as clause 3(1)(b) of the Bill sets out that the date on which the CE assumes office shall be specified by the CPG in the instrument of appointment, we need to exchange views with the CPG to ensure that this is achieved." End/Tuesday, July 10, 2001 |