Page:Hong Kong Basic Law consultation report vol. 1.djvu/78

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state under the common law system." It will avoid confusion by clearly stating that the term "acts of state" refer to that under the common law system.

3) Amend the first sentence in Paragraph 3 to read: "Courts of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall have no jurisdiction over Acts of State." The deletion of the words "cases relating to" makes it clear that the courts of the HKSAR have no jurisdiction only over those parts of the case involving "acts of state" and not the entire case.

3. A member expressed objection to the deletion of Paragraphs 3 and 4. It is best to clearly define the limits of power in order to avoid complications.

Article 21

1. A member held that the expression "participate in state affairs" was vague. All residents of Hong Kong should be entitled to participate in the running, government and affairs of the HKSAR.

Article 22

1. On Paragraph 4 of the article: "People from other parts of China must apply for approval for entry into the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.", a member suggested that consideration should be given to whether the applications for approval would be handled by the Chinese authorities on their own or the HKSAR Government would also have a say in the handling of such applications.

2. A member suggested that Paragraph 4 be amended as follows: "People from other parts of China must apply to the Chinese authorities and to the Immigration Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for approval for entry into the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region."

Article 23

1. [Translator's note: a suggested amendment to the Chinese term for "sedition", which has no relevance to the English version.]

2. A member noted it was understood that the acts that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region may deal with on its own should be affairs within the autonomy of the HKSAR. But it is also possible that such acts as "treason and secession" are

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