Editorial:Belief that ''only power matters'' is no help to deadlock
文章日期:2020年4月22日

【明報專訊】THE ACCUSATION by the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong that some lawmakers are playing ''scorched-earth politics'' has triggered a row over the status of the liaison office in the city as well as the ''One country, two systems'' principle. The liaison office and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council (HKMAO) are both agencies authorised by the central government to handle Hong Kong affairs. Article 22 of the Basic Law stipulates that ''no department'' of the central government may interfere in the internal affairs of Hong Kong, but regarding whether the article applies to ''the two offices'' (the liaison office and HKMAO), different sides have different interpretations. A final say on the dispute over all the different legal viewpoints may ultimately require an interpretation by the National People's Congress. In fact, the row is about political questions rather than legal questions. The real focus is not Article 22 of the Basic Law, but the exercise of supervisory power. Although the central government has supervisory power over Hong Kong, in the past no words were said about whether the liaison office was also entitled to such power. Amid high tension between Beijing and Hong Kong, the central authorities may feel it necessary to expand their ''one country'' power to cope with the latest situation. However, every new rule introduced always comes with a demerit. Whether the concrete implementation of overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong by the central authorities or the exercise of supervisory power by the liaison office will give rise to new problems and circumstances will be a cause for concern.

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