The government Thursday gazetted a bill to amend the Chief Executive Election Ordinance (CEEO) so as to clarify the term of Tung Chee-hwa's successor, to be elected in a bypoll on July 10.

The Chief Executive Election (Amendment) (Term of Office Chief Executive) Bill proposes that a CE, who fills a vacancy arising from reasons other than the expiry of the term of office, should serve out the residue of his predecessor's term.

Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung said yesterday the government has not yet officially received notification of any judicial reviews over the new CE's tenure being lodged into courts. She stressed the power of interpretation of the Basic Law shall be vested in the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), the country's top legislature.

The government said earlier the tenure of the next CE should be two years so as to tally with the Basic Law's legislative intent. The arguments were later backed by the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC.

The amendment bill will be officially introduced to the Legislative Council for the first reading on April 6. It is subject to three readings before becoming law.

Yesterday, Chan Kam-lam of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) expected the bill would be passed smoothly at LegCo.

Chan said, "We don't see that there is a great opposition to the passage of the bill at LegCo. As the CE by-election is imminent, any delay of the passage of the bill might postpone the by-election and trigger negative impact on SAR's political stability.
"Even though the timetable is quite tight, we must make sure that the bill would be passed as scheduled."

The government hoped that the bill would become enacted by LegCo before the CE nominations begin in early June.

After the bill's passage, the nomination and canvassing period will then take place between June and July. The next CE will be returned on July 10, before the term of the 800-strong Election Committee expires on July 13.

Chan believed that the SAR's Court of Final Appeal will prioritize resolving any judicial reviews against the government and will not allow such a case to drag on.

In related developments, independent lawmaker Albert Chan said yesterday that he decided to lodge a judicial review with the court in the upcoming two weeks without waiting for the government's bill to be passed at LegCo. "I believe the litigation would be resolved in May at the earliest so that it would not disrupt the CE by-election," said Chan, adding that the to-be-amended ordinance violates the Basic Law.

Wang Zhenmin, deputy dean of Tsinghua University's law school, urged Hong Kong citizens not to abuse their rights to mount legal challenges against the government.

Wang warned that a judicial review could complicate the issue.

He believed the central government has been aware of the mounting calls in Hong Kong for an interpretation of the Basic Law to pre-empt any legal challenges that could trigger constitutional crisis.

"If the interpretation of the Basic Law by the NPC is deemed necessary, it should be made sooner rather than later," said Wang, adding that it would be ideal if the top legislature could render an interpretation in its meeting held next month.

Also, Raymond Wu, a local delegate to the NPC, yesterday called on disgruntled lawmakers who advocated a full five-year tenure not to insist on their common-law principle to study the Basic Law.

Basic Law drafter Maria Tam said the interpretation of the Basic Law is the last resort to resolve the legal disputes over the tenure of CE.

She believed the central and SAR governments will take measures to safeguard Hong Kong's political stability if necessary.

(China Daily HK Edition March 25, 2005)