Ever since Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa announced several months ago that in the Legislative Council to be elected in May, only members of 12 specified functional constituencies would be allowed to have foreign nationality or right of abode, I have been asked whether I would give up my British citizenship in order to take part in the Legco geographical constituency election.
On December 16, I said the answer was yes.
Although article 67 of the Basic Law permits not more than 20 per cent (or 12 members) of Legco to have foreign citizenship, Mr Tung has chosen to implement this article in the most wilful way by arbitrarily handpicking 12 functional constituencies. The provisional legislature has rubber-stamped his proposal.
Article 67 was put in the Basic Law because the Chinese Government recognised that hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong people have acquired foreign citizenship as an insurance against the excesses of communist rule, and it did not want to create a political system that would completely alienate these people.
However, Mr Tung has turned the concession on nationality into a hurdle for pro-democracy candidates. Those with foreign citizenship cannot run in the geographical constituencies unless they give it up. At least two are reluctant to do so.
I have spoken to lawyers about the possibility of challenging Mr Tung's decision in court, and was told not to waste time and money because they felt the judiciary would side with the administration.