interpreted by the Central Authorities as affairs under its jurisdiction. If after 1997, the Central Authorities consider that the laws enacted by the HKSAR on its own are so inadequate for prohibiting such acts as treason that the interests of the Central Authorities and national unity are undermined, the following situations may emerge:
- The Central Authorities, according to Article 17 of the Basic Law, consider that the laws enacted by the legislature of the Region are "not in conformity with the provisions of this Law regarding affairs within the responsibility of the Central Authorities or the relationship between the Central Authorities and the Region", and return the law in question for reconsideration.
- The Central Authorities, according to Article 18, consider that such acts as treason relate to "defence and foreign affairs as well as other laws outside the limits of the autonomy of the Region", and therefore add all other relevant national laws to the list of laws in Annex III for application in the HKSAR.
Members agreed that the above-mentioned situations were worrying and therefore put forward the following suggestions:
( 1 ) If the Central Authorities need to make any addition to or deletion from the list of laws in Annex III, they should be required not only to "consult" the Committee for the Basic Law and the HKSAR Government as prescribed by Article 18, but also to obtain their consent.
( 2 ) If the Central Authorities need to make any addition to or deletion from the list of laws in Annex III, such an addition or deletion should be considered an amendment to the Basic Law and should therefore be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of Article 158.
3. A member pointed out that the interpretation and handling of such acts as treason and secession in China were very much different from those in Hong Kong. He was afraid that China and the HKSAR will have conflicts over the interpretation of such terms in future. Even though it is clearly stipulated in this article that the HKSAR may "enact laws on its own to prohibit" such acts, it is possible that the Chinese authorities may disagree with the way in which the Government of the HKSAR handles these acts and impose the mainland standard on Hong Kong. If such a case is true, then the protection provided by this article will only be nominal.
4. A member expressed a different view. He held that any law to be enacted by the Government of the HKSAR in accordance with this article would first be reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for the record as prescribed by Article 17. Should the Central Government
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