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THE Government was accused yesterday of turning a blind eye to the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law in its recent amendments of laws.

  Professor Wu Jianfan, who was involved in the drafting of the mini-constitution, said that laws originally in line with the two documents were now in conflict with them.

  He urged that any changes to the statute book be made only after thorough discussions with China.

  Professor Wu made the criticisms in a speech to a Basic Law seminar organised by the Preliminary Working Committee (PWC) in Hong Kong which was attended by members of the pro-China camp and leaders from the education and cultural sectors.

  The Solicitor-General, Daniel Fung QC, was the only senior Government official to attend, although invitations were also extended to outgoing Secretary for Recreation and Culture, James So Yiu-cho, as well as the Director of Education, Lam Woon-kwong.

  A statement by Chinese Foreign Minister and PWC chairman, Qian Qichen, was read out, arguing that promoting awareness of the Basic Law would be the basis of its success.

  Zhou Nan, director of Xinhua (the New China News Agency) in Hong Kong, said that there was a need to publicise the document because of widespread misunderstanding.

   Professor Wu cited the Societies Ordinance which, he said, contradicted Article 23 of the Basic Law.

  'Some of the laws are in line with the Basic Law in their original form. After the amendments, however, they are contradictory,' he said.

  The Ordinance was amended in 1992 to remove the ban on links between local and foreign political organisations, although the ban is reaffirmed under Article 23.

  Professor Wu charged the Government with introducing drastic changes to the legal framework before 1997 because China had promised no changes for Hong Kong in the following 50 years.

  He said China should be a strict gatekeeper and the laws should be vetted carefully in 1997.

  However, Mr Fung, who was attending in his personal capacity, rejected the charges.

  The Legal Department would not advise the Government to alter the laws if such changes went against the two documents, Mr Fung said.

   Asked to comment on the much-criticised Societies Ordinance, Mr Fung said: 'I haven't got the ordinance with me. I don't think I can comment on it.'   Mr Fung stressed that he was driven by his interest in the Basic Law to attend the seminar. He refused to comment on the absence of his colleagues.

  He suggested that the National People's Congress Standing Committee issue guidelines to Government departments as an interim measure to bring laws into line in time for the changeover.

  The amendment of the law involves changing the names of bodies such as the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, the Governor and the Legislative Council.

  Further legislative changes should be dealt with by the provisional legislature, he said.

  Meanwhile, a deputy director of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Wang Fengzhao, stressed yesterday that the future Special Administrative Region (SAR) would enjoy a high degree of autonomy.

  Although the Basic Law stipulated that the central Government could impose a state of emergency on the SAR, Mr Wang said this would only be made when either China itself was at a state of war with another country or when Hong Kong was in such chaos that it threatened the unity of the country.



Statute book changes 'out of line'