Interpretation will be confined to length of next term, says expert

The Standing Committee will only rule on the length of the term of a replacement chief executive and won't interpret other Basic Law provisions on the term of Hong Kong' leaders, a mainland drafter of the mini-constitution said.

Xu Chongde , a law professor at Renmin University in Beijing, said it was appropriate for the Hong Kong government to request the National People's Congress Standing Committee to clarify Basic Law provisions.

Professor Xu, who believed previously that there was no need for another interpretation of the Basic Law over the term of the new chief executive, now says an interpretation is a quicker way to ensure the chief executive election on July 10 proceeds smoothly.

The professor, one of the so-called 'four guardians of the Basic Law', said he expected the Standing Committee to confine the scope of its interpretation to how long Tung Chee-hwa's successor should serve.

'I think the Standing Committee is unlikely to address other legal issues, like whether the successor to a chief executive who quits prematurely is allowed to stand for two more terms.'

But Cai Dingjian , a law professor at the China University of Politics and Law in Beijing, said the Standing Committee was empowered to go beyond the request of the Hong Kong government and interpret other relevant clauses.

Professor Cai, a former vice-director of the office of the Standing Committee secretariat, said: 'The committee should address other outstanding issues, like whether the new chief executive is allowed to stand for two [full] five-year terms and [at what point] the remainder of a chief executive's term [is deemed long enough to count as equivalent to a full term].'