[Text/Observer.com columnist Zhou Xian]
Twenty-seven years after the handover, words with colonial connotations such as "Her Majesty the Queen", "Governor" and "Legislative Council" were passed on the third reading by the Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council on July 10 After the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the "Bill") was enacted, it withdrew from the Hong Kong legal arena.
The "Draft" passed this time is divided into 15 parts, with the purpose of "proposing some generally technical and non-controversial minor amendments to different areas of legislation to update or further improve relevant legislation." The most eye-catching among them is, It is Part 14: replace “Her Majesty the Queen, her hereditary heirs or successors” with “the Central Government or the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law and other laws”, replace “Governor” with “Chief Executive”, and replace “Chief Executive in Council” with "Executive Council" replaced "Governor in Council", "Legislative Council" replaced "Legislative Council", etc.
As Acting Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kion said, this amendment is "non-controversial". However, people who are not familiar with the history of Hong Kong's legal system must have a question: it involves the right to justice and should obviously be enacted urgently after the handover. Why did it wait until today, 27 years later, to propose an "amendment"?
It is said that after China and Britain signed the "Joint Declaration" in 1984, they began to arrange the procedures for the transfer of governance. The top priority was to convert the colonial laws that had been in force in Hong Kong for many years into The laws of the Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. The arrangements for the handover of
were peaceful until the Soviet Union disintegrated on December 25, 1991. The United Kingdom and the United States, the manipulator behind it, thought that their common enemy had fallen and China's greatest utilization value had also disappeared, so they moved He had a crooked idea and planned to target China as his next target. He was not willing to hand over Hong Kong obediently, so he started to play tricks.
On July 9, 1992, Patten, a heavyweight politician who failed in the British local election, officially took office and became the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong. The biggest disruption he made while in office was the passage of the political reform plan in 1994. The new political system allows pro-Western Hong Kong democrats to gain more seats in the Legislative Council, allowing the West to continue to use Hong Kong as a base to subvert China after the return. This behavior extended the disaster to the anti-China riots in Hong Kong in 2019, and it was not until the passage of the "Hong Kong National Security Law" in 2020 that it served as a stabilizing needle to calm down the chaos that had been in place for many years after the return. It can be seen that it was very harmful.
Lu Ping, then director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, denounced Patten as an "eternal sinner." Years later, he recalled that "he destroyed the entire smooth transition and created great difficulties for us. If it were not for Patten, Hong Kong's transition would be smoother. It is not just the political system that affects Hong Kong, but also the entire Hong Kong People’s confidence and the economy.”
Since the Chinese government does not recognize Patten’s political reform plan, and therefore does not recognize the members of the Legislative Council elected based on this political reform plan in 1995, members cannot make a “through-train” transition. By July 1, 1997, the Provisional Legislative Council was organized, with a term from January 25, 1997 to June 30, 1998.
The Provisional Legislative Council passed the "Hong Kong Return Ordinance" on the day of handover, which is divided into 9 parts and a total of 32 articles. The purpose is to quickly transition colonial laws into the laws of the Special Administrative Region. The fourth part of this is "a reference to Her Majesty, the Crown, the Crown, the British Government or the Secretary of State (or similar names, words or expressions) in any provision relating to the following ownership rights or relating to the following matters or relationship, shall be construed as a reference to the Central People's Government or other competent authority of the People's Republic of China - in any provision a reference to Her Majesty, the Crown, the Crown, the British Government or the Secretary of State (or similar names, words or expressions) ) shall, if the context does not mean that specified in section 1, be construed as a reference to the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region."
This method is undoubtedly crude, but it is fast and practical, and is suitable for extraordinary arrangements during the transition period. Therefore, after the handover, if you look at Hong Kong's laws, you can still see a large number of "Her Majesty the Queen", "Governor-General", "Governor-General" The remaining colonial words such as "in conjunction with the Executive Council" need to be automatically converted in the mind. Of course, the legal profession is used to this conversion, but to outsiders, it is awkward.
The new version of the map of Hong Kong released by the Lands Department of Hong Kong. Information Services Department
Verification Hong Kong's laws have not experienced similar changes. Before Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne in 1952, the monarch of the British royal family was her father, George VI. After she ascended the throne, Hong Kong's laws also changed "His Majesty the King". "Her Majesty the Queen", and it was changed immediately. Therefore, it was indeed too late for Hong Kong to make corresponding changes 27 years after its return.
But in any case, the "National Security Ordinance" was adopted in March. Passed on the 23rd, it marks that the SAR government has fulfilled its constitutional responsibilities under Article 23 of the Basic Law. The government has made the above-mentioned "minor amendments" at this moment, which is like putting the final nail on the coffin of the colonial era. The nails, marking the last remnant of that era, also disappeared.
In fact, Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022, and "Her Majesty the Queen" also disappeared before the legislation was revised.
Elizabeth II ruled Hong Kong for 45 years. , middle-aged to elderly Hong Kong people have felt her presence since childhood. For example, Hong Kong political agencies often hang photos of her, and it is difficult not to see her, because in the 1980s and 1990s, Hong Kong was very popular. In a period of unprecedented prosperity and peak, it is hard to avoid having a "colonial love" mentality towards that era.
In fact, from the 1950s to the early 1970s, even during the British colonial era of George VI and earlier, Hong Kong's The social order and economic situation are still in chaos, and the people are in dire straits. Otherwise, there would not have been the general strikes in 1922 and 1925, the riots in 1956, and the anti-British resistance in 1967. However, nine people who still have these ancient memories have died. In the 90s, coupled with the propaganda and exaggeration of anti-China elements for many years, the most "colonial love" is now the young people in their twenties and thirties who have never been colonized. Perhaps, in their minds. In the colonial era, it was the glorified Lui Lok and the lame tycoon in the movie, rather than the real Lui Lok who harbored prostitutes and gamblers, and the corrupt and corrupt Lui Lok who committed murder and drug trafficking.
Let’s talk about Hong Kong’s first main road. Located in the center of Hong Kong Island, it is 4 kilometers long and is called "Queen's Road". It is divided into three sections: East, Central and West. This road was built in 1942. Its name came from the imperial empire at that time. Queen Victoria, not Elizabeth II. As for the other major road in Hong Kong Island, located in North Point in the east, it was built in 1935 and is called "King's Road", which is marked by George V, Queen Elizabeth II. grandfather. Queen Elizabeth II does not have a street name in Hong Kong.
From the perspective of historical evaluation, Elizabeth II reigned for 70 years and 214 days, making her the second-longest reigning monarch in human history, second only to Louis XIV. She personally experienced the decline of the British Empire, and she managed to do it appropriately on how to maintain the elegance of the empire and herself during the period of decline.
No one in the generation who came from the colonial era has any respect for the current British King Charles III. At that time, Hong Kong people nicknamed Queen Elizabeth II "Sitou Po", which means "proprietress". Today, "Shitou Po" has passed away, and her name has been removed from the law forever, and "love colonization" has become a historical term.
The national flag of the People's Republic of China and the regional flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region flutter in the wind on the streets of Hong Kong. Xinhua News Agency Photo by Li Gang
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