Leave Basic Law out of debate: Regina Ip The labour chief was warned yesterday not to 'drop constitutional bombs' over the maid levy just so the government could have its way. This came after Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung told legislators he was awaiting a written opinion from the Department of Justice on Basic Law questions related to the levy. Mr Cheung was speaking at a meeting of a subcommittee scrutinising an amendment notice to the Employees Retraining Ordinance, suspending for two years a HK$400 monthly levy on employers of foreign domestic helpers. The government has suspended the levy for two years until July 31, 2010. A legislative procedure to approve the two-year suspension retrospectively is now undergoing 'negative vetting' - meaning it will become law unless an objection is received. Independent lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee is proposing an amendment to totally scrap the levy, while three amendments have been tabled for the suspension of the levy for five, 10 or 49 years. Mrs Ip said she had noted some newspaper reports and asked: 'Does the administration think if my amendment is passed that it would contravene Article 74 and then there would be a need for an interpretation of the Basic Law? If so I will shoulder a very heavy responsibility.' The article pertains to the introduction of bills by members of the Legislative Council. Mr Cheung said he could not comment on speculation. He again urged members to pass the 'simple amendment', adding: 'The Department of Justice is now drafting our legal opinion, and in an appropriate time a response will be made.' Mrs Ip countered: 'You are holding a nuclear bomb and scaring the members but you wouldn't admit that.' But Mr Cheung said: 'I don't have the bomb in hand.' Civic Party legislator Ronnie Tong Ka-wah said the government could seek a judicial review if Legco president Tsang Yok-sing eventually approves Mrs Ip's amendment. 'If the government sought a reinterpretation, it would be a constitutional crisis,' he said. Confederation of Trade Unions legislator Lee Cheuk-yan said the government had not threatened private members' bills with Article 74 since 1998. 'If now you invoke it, you will really detonate a constitutional crisis,' he said. Benny Tai Yiu-ting, associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, advised the government against seeking a reinterpretation. 'The present dispute may be limited to a very unique situation and will not generalise into situations that will affect government's powers or the ability of Legco members to put forward motions that will have public expenditure implications,' he said. 'It will be totally disproportionate for the government to take this route to resolve this dispute.' The government could instead seek a judicial review, he said.