Basic Law interpretation not to harm high degree of autonomy: official

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, March 29, 2004

Basic Law interpretation not to harm high degree of autonomy: official

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Stephen Lam, Hong Kong secretary for Constitutional Affairs, said Saturday that China's top legislature's interpretation of the Basic Law would not harm either the implementation of "One Country, Two Systems" or a high degree of autonomy in Hong Kong.

Remarking at a symposium on constitutional development, Lam, also head of the Constitutional Development Task Force, said according to Article 62 of the Constitution, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) is responsible for determining the constitution of Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) while Article 158 of the Basic Law stipulated that, the NPC Standing Committee is entrusted to interpret the Basic Law.

Lam said the early interpretation and clear definition of the related articles would be good for Hong Kong.

In a related development, Financial Secretary Henry Tang said Saturday that it is the legitimate right for the NPC Standing Committee to interpret the Basic Law, the act will not affect the confidence of foreign investors for Hong Kong.

He said, for foreign investors, they care about Hong Kong's economic structures and if they can make money here.

He said, Hong Kong's economy has just entered the track of recovery, which not comes easily.

He believed that the most important thing for Hong Kong is to seek the opportunities and make concerted efforts to face new challenges.

Source: Xinhua

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