Provisional Legislative Council

Provisional Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Hương cảng đặc biệt hành chính khu lâm thời lập pháp hội
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Established	25 January 1997(1997-01-25)
Disbanded	30 June 1998(1998-06-30)
Preceded by	Colonial Legislative Council
Succeeded by	Legislative Council HKSAR
Leadership
President	Rita Fan,Independent
Seats	60
Elections
Voting system	Plurality-at-largebySelection Committee
Meeting place
Huaxia Art Centre(February–June 1997) Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre(1 July 1997) Legislative Council Building(1 July 1997 – 30 June 1998)

Provisional Legislative Council
Traditional Chinese	Hương cảng đặc biệt hành chính khu lâm thời lập pháp hội
Simplified Chinese	Hương cảng đặc biệt hành chính khu lâm thời lập pháp hội
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xiānggǎng Tèbiéxíngzhèngqū Línshí Lìfǎhuì Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Hēung góng dahk biht hàhng jing kēui làhm sìh lahp faat wuih Jyutping Hoeng1 gong2 dak6 bit6 hang4 zing3 keoi1 lam4 si4 lap6 faat3 wui6*2

TheProvisional Legislative Council(PLC) was the interim legislature ofHong Kongthat operated from 1997 to 1998. The legislature was founded inGuangzhouand sat inShenzhenfrom 1996 (with offices in Hong Kong), until the1997 handoverwhen it moved to Hong Kong to temporarily replace theLegislative Council of Hong Kong.

The legislature was established by thePreparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regionby resolution at its Second Plenary Session on 24 March 1996. The 60 members of the PLC were elected on 21 December 1996 by the 400-member Selection Committee for the First Government of the HKSAR, which also elected the first Chief Executive. The official start date for this council was on 25 January 1997.

History

1992 electoral reforms

When theHong Kong Basic Lawwas promulgated on 4 April 1990, theNational People's Congress(NPC) issued a decision on the same day on the formation of the first government and legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.The decision and the Basic Law envisioned the Legislative Council returned from the1995 Hong Kong legislative electionto continue operating until 1998, when the next legislative election would be due.

The NPC decided that the first legislature was to be formed according to "principles of State sovereignty and smooth transition".More specifically, the first legislature was to have 60 members, 20 of which returned from directgeographical constituencyelections, 30 members fromfunctional constituenciesand 10 members returned by an election committee.If the composition of the last colonial Legislative Council conforms to the NPC decision and the Basic Law, its members automatically become members of the first post-handover Legislative Council, provided that they uphold the Basic Law, plead allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and meet the requirements of the Basic Law.

The automatic transition (or the "through-train" model)was abandoned on 31 August 1994, when the NPC decided the 1995 Legislative Council would end with British sovereignty over Hong Kong. The policy changed when the Hong Kong government decided the 1995 legislature would be formed with a new electoral formula from the1994 electoral reformannounced by Hong Kong GovernorChris Pattenin October 1992. Although the new formula expanded Hong Kong's electoral base, it conformed with the seat composition described in the NPC decision by only allowing 33 percent of seats to be elected through universal suffrage.This was possible only because decision did not define the election committee and the functional constituency electorate.

The electoral reform created nine functional constituencies that gave paid labourers voting rights and abolished voting by corporations, which could vote in the old functional constituencies.As a result, the number of voters in the functional constituencies increased to about 2.7 million from 104,609.The reform also defined the election committee to consist ofdistrict boardmembers, who were themselves elected by universal suffrage.

China did not recognise the Legislative Council returned after the electoral reform. It stated the new composition violated theSino-British Joint Declaration,the Basic Law and the NPC decision made in 1990.It also stated the reforms were introduced unilaterally, and China was not consulted on the change in seat composition.

Negotiations between the British and Chinese governments on the legislative transition began in April 1993, but ended in November 1993 without a consensus.On 2 July 1993, the NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) formed thePreliminary Working Committee,an organisation that prepared for the establishment of thePreparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regionin 1996. According to legal scholarAlbert Chen,the PLC was an idea of the Preliminary Working Committee.

Establishment

On 26 January 1996, the Preparatory Committee was formed in accordance with the 1990 NPC decision.At its second plenary session on 24 March 1996, the Preparatory Committee established the PLC.The PLC's composition was consistent with the 1990 NPC decision, but all members were to be chosen by theSelection Committee.By the end of 1996, all 60 members of the PLC had been chosen by the selection committee controlled by China.TheDemocratic Partyboycotted the PLC and criticised it for being undemocratic, while politiciansTsang Yok-sing,Elsie Tu,Dominic Chan andPeggy Lamgained a seat.

The Provisional Legislative Council convened its first meeting on 25 January 1997 at theShenzhen Guesthouse HotelinShenzhen.At the meeting, it elected its first president,Rita Fan.From 1 July 1997 to 1998, it sat at the thenLegislative Council Buildingin Hong Kong.

Council committees and the LegCo Secretariat sat at various locations, including:

• Huaxia Art Centre– 1 Guanqiao Street in the Overseas Chinese Town inNanshan District, Shenzhenfrom 22 February to 21 June 1997
• Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition CentreExtension – 1 July 1997

The Council held 60 meetings, 17 motions and passed 13 bills introduced by theChief Executive of Hong Kong.The Legco Secretariat offices were on the 3rd Floor of the Huaxia Art Centre.

Organisation

Main article:1996 Hong Kong provisional legislative election

President of the Provisional Legislative Council

Main article:1997 President of the Hong Kong Provisional Legislative Council election

The president of the PLC wasRita Fan,who later led the legislative council following the handover.

Members

Main article:List of LegCo members elected in Hong Kong legislative election, 1996

Officers of the Provisional Legislative Council

The only officer found in the records was for the Clerk, Pauline Ng Man-Wah. Immediately after the Provisional Legislative Council was disbanded, she became the clerk of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. She retired from this position on 28 August 2012.

Standing committees

• Finance Committee
• Public Accounts Committee
• Committee of Members' Interest

Legislative functions

The legislative functions of the PLC are described by the Preparatory Committee in 1996.

Proceedings

Meeting broadcast

Sessions of the PLC were broadcast with assistance from theShenzhen Television Station.

Legal status

The PLC is neither referred to in the Basic Law nor the Joint Declaration as their drafters assumed the last colonial legislative session would automatically become the Special Administrative Region's first legislature.The legality of the PLC was challenged in the caseHKSAR v Ma Wai Kwandecided by theCourt of Appealon 29 July 1997. The defendants argued that the PLC was unlawful because it did not satisfy the Basic Law's definition of Hong Kong's legislature in Annex II.The court dismissed the argument. Among other reasons, the court held that as a local court it had no power to review an act of a sovereign authority.The court reasoned that since Article 19 of the Basic Law did not expand its judicial powers and that it had no power to review the validity of a sovereign act under colonial rule, it did not hold such power after the handover.While JusticeGerald Nazarethagreed with the majority decision, he questioned whether the constitutional structure of China and that of the United Kingdom were analogous. He also noted there was no "detailed review" of theChinese constitutionduring the trial.The decision inMa Wai Kwanwas upheld by theCourt of Final AppealinNg Ka Ling v Director of Immigrationdecided in January 1999.

Johannes Chancommented that the lack of judicial review power to review acts ofParliamentreflectedparliamentary supremacy,a doctrine borne out of unwritten constitutional systems.Since China has a written constitution and that the Basic Law describes the relationship between Hong Kong and the central government unlike the colonialLetters Patentand theRoyal Instructions,Chan questioned whether parliamentary supremacy still fully applies in Hong Kong after 1997.

See also

• Legislative Council of Hong Kong
• 1996 Hong Kong Provisional Legislature election
• Legislation of the Provisional Government of Hong Kong

Further reading

• Richburg, Keith B. (9 April 1997)."Hong Kong's Legislature-in-Waiting".Washington Post.p. A23.