Mainland Chinese legal expert says Hong Kong Basic Law change not needed if mainland officers stationed at rail terminus
The proposal raises fears that the Legislative Council will be bypassed on the issue despite a pledge by the transport minister that this would not be the case
A Beijing legal expert on Sunday floated a controversial proposal that mainland officers could be posted at the high-speed rail link’s West Kowloon terminus without adding to the Basic Law’s list of mainland laws applying to the city.
Basic Law Committee member and Peking University law professor Rao Geping’s remarks raised concerns about whether he was suggesting that Hong Kong’s Legislative Council could be bypassed on the issue of co-location. Transport minister Anthony Cheung Bing-leung had previously promised to allow lawmakers to scrutinise the proposed arrangement.
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According to Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, a national law can be applied to the city only if the National People’s Congress includes it in Annex III of the Basic Law, which lists mainland legislation relating to defence, diplomacy or matters beyond Hong Kong’s autonomy.
On Friday, Legco descended into chaos as it approved HK$19.6 billion in extra funding for the Hong Kong section of the express rail link to Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Pan-democratsobjected to the funding as ministers failed to explain whether mainland officers would be stationed with Hong Kong officers at the West Kowloon terminus.
They feared co-location would provide an excuse for mainland officers to arrest dissidents in Hong Kong, but Cheung promised to come up with a proposal with Beijing and present it for Legco’s scrutiny.
However, Rao said on Sunday the central and local governments could decide on implementing co-location without the national legislature adding to Annex III.
“It only concerns legislation on departure checks, and instead of implementing an entire mainland law in Hong Kong, it will only be adopted in a specific zone in the terminus, so it is different from the procedure for Annex III,” Rao said.