Application of the Constitution in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: Theoretical Review and Practical Reflection
Cao Xudong
Abstract:The application of our constitution in Special Administrative Region is the core issue of the relationship between the Constitution and the Basic Law. There is no theoretical dispute about the application of the constitution as a whole in SAR, but there are many disputes on how specific provisions of the constitution will be applied. In the past thirty years, the discussion has been carried out in three routes. The first one is that part of the Constitution is supposed to apply to Hong Kong. The second one is that the Constitution should be applied to Hong Kong through the implementation of the Basic Law. And the third one is that both the Constitution and the Basic Law should apply to Hong Kong at the same time. These three views have their own leading time in accordance with the political situation. However, the greatest weakness of the discussion is the lack of observation, recognition and reflection on practical issues. The National People's Congress set up a temporary Legislative Council, and the state council drew up the ‘11thFive-Year’ plan to cover Hong Kong, both of which are the practice of the Constitution application in Hong Kong which needs to be taken seriously. The key to resolve the issue of the application of specific provisions of the Constitution is to identify the provisions which can be applied to Hong Kong directly, and such provisions need to pass the ‘non-alternative’ and ‘relevance’ tests. KeyWords:the Application of Constitution; HKSAR v. Ma Wai-Kwan, David and Others; Temporary Legislative Council; Direct Application; Indirect Application