The Hong Kong Bar has made this statement in response to the Secretary for Justise’s statement on the next CE’s supposingly 2 year term.
I hereby offer my layman’s view:-
- The Common Law System assumes that everyone know the Law. The Law should therefore be comprehensible by the layman. Throwing the “legislative intent of the original design” and the drafting history of the Basic Law into the equation will make this impossible. The literal meaning is the true one is the only way this would work.
- The Secretary for Justise reaches a new low by accepting the views of “Mainland scholars” she consulted. These “Mainland scholars” serve a totalitarian government, which has no respect of the law and use it merely as a tool to rule. China is hardly reputable in respect of the rule of law, so consulting these scholars is no different to consulting the Thai about polar bear hunting, or the Eskimos about camel herding.
The man on the street may not care either way, nor does he have much say in this. Still doesn’t make it right.
And no, Donald won’t be able to serve as CE for 12 years. Any CE may only do a maximum of two terms, so if he goes forth w/ his 2 year term, his 2nd term will be his last, and he would only serve as CE for a total of 7 years. If he’s willing to accept this rotten deal then he’s just another yes-man.