China News Service, Hong Kong, April 8th. Title: Interview with Tan Yaozong: Improving the electoral system and returning to the original intent of the Hong Kong Basic Law
China News Agency reporter Zhang Xiaoxi
"Hong Kong has been returned to China for more than 20 years, but sometimes, the implementation of the Basic Law is not accurate enough. It is indeed deformed and out of shape. This time it can be adjusted so that we can correctly follow the Basic Law in the future. It’s very important.” Recently, Tan Yaozong, member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and secretary-general of the “Hong Kong Restart Alliance”, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Agency in Hong Kong when he talked about the significance of improving Hong Kong’s electoral system.
Served as a member of the Drafting Committee of the Hong Kong Basic Law. He was also an elected member of the Legislative Council after the return of Hong Kong to implement a proportional representation system and won five consecutive regional elections. Tan Yaozong expressed his support for the National People's Congress's decision to improve Hong Kong's election system and a member of the National People's Congress The amendments to Annex I and Annex II of the Hong Kong Basic Law are because the purpose of improving the electoral system is to enable Hong Kong to better implement "one country, two systems" and achieve long-term stability.
"The National People's Congress made this decision on March 11, and it has attracted a lot of attention in Hong Kong. Everyone has discussions. We are also collecting opinions on the streets and online." Tan Yaozong said that more than 2 million Hong Kong citizens made decisions at the National People's Congress. After signing, he supported the improvement of Hong Kong's electoral system.
Subsequently, the relevant central authorities held more than 60 seminars in Hong Kong and listened to the opinions of more than 1,000 people. He himself also received some submissions and forwarded them to the relevant departments.
In Tan Yaozong's view, the improvement of the electoral system is targeted and in line with Hong Kong's reality, aiming to implement "patriots ruling Hong Kong", plug loopholes in the electoral system, and prevent anti-China chaos in Hong Kong from entering Hong Kong's political system.
He specifically stated that under the new electoral system, a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Candidate Qualification Review Committee will be established to review and confirm the qualifications of candidates for the Election Committee (Election Committee), candidates for the Chief Executive, and candidates for the Legislative Council.
In terms of the process, the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force will first conduct an investigation and assessment, and then submit it to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region National Security Committee (National Security Committee) for confirmation, and then to the qualification review committee for processing. The work will be more secure and more rigorous.
Tan Yaozong also stated that Article 97 of the Hong Kong Basic Law stipulates that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region may establish non-political regional organizations to receive consultations from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on regional management and other matters, or be responsible for providing cultural, recreational, and environmental sanitation services.
In order to implement the original intent of the Hong Kong Basic Law, the Hong Kong District Council should not participate in too much political work. Therefore, the new election committee has eliminated 117 District Council members from the election committee.
He also revealed that the improvement of the electoral system did not determine whether the composition of the district councils will change in the future. It is expected that relevant issues will be studied before the election of the district councils.
In Annex I and Annex II of the Hong Kong Basic Law newly revised by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the number of members of the election committee has been expanded from 1,200 to 1,500. The fifth sector composed of member representatives; the Election Committee is not only responsible for the election of the Chief Executive, but also for the election of 40 members of the Legislative Council, which has a heavy responsibility.
In this regard, Tan Yaozong said that the Election Committee has existed since the return of Hong Kong and was responsible for the election of some members of the Legislative Council. The Election Committee can represent all aspects of Hong Kong society and is a microcosm of the entire society.
It is hoped that the Chief Executive and Legislative Council members elected by the Election Committee can proceed from the overall interests of Hong Kong and safeguard the fundamental interests of the people of Hong Kong.
Tan Yaozong said, “When we drafted the Basic Law, especially the political structure, we thought that Hong Kong should be executive-led. If it were not executive-led, it would be inefficient and it would be difficult for the government to do things.” He also said that in the new electoral system Participants in politics can still put forward different opinions and suggestions on the administration of the SAR government, but the starting point cannot be to oppose for the sake of opposition. Collusion with foreign forces, subversion, sabotage, and "Hong Kong independence" are even more unacceptable. They must follow According to Article 104 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, it is necessary to uphold the Hong Kong Basic Law and be loyal to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Tan Yaozong emphasized that improving the electoral system is constitutional, legal, reasonable and reasonable. The starting point is for the good of Hong Kong. "So no matter how people attack us, we must be able to withstand it. We are not afraid, because we are all for the interests of Hong Kong and the people of Hong Kong. Fundamental interests." (End)