The Secretary for Education Yang Yun-hung and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor recently said that “there is no separation of powers in Hong Kong,” which has sparked public concern and heated debate. In response to this, the Hong Kong Bar Association issued a statement on September 2, saying that the two men’s remarks deviated from many authoritative cases that have described the structure of the SAR government, and were not in line with the provisions of the Basic Law that clearly specify and define the separation of powers, and that the two men’s remarks were unfounded.
According to an earlier report by Ming Pao, the new edition of the high school general education textbook, which has been reviewed by the Hong Kong Education Bureau’s “Professional Advisory Service,” will remove or amend the “separation of powers” when introducing the rule of law in Hong Kong. In response, Yang Yun-hung said on August 31 that “there is no separation of powers in Hong Kong. He claimed that “no matter what the system was before 1997, or what it will be after 1997 according to the Basic Law, it will not be a system of separation of powers. He also stressed that “these facts must be clearly stated in the textbooks.” It is reported that this is the first time the current Hong Kong government officials publicly denied the “separation of powers” said. In this regard, Mrs. Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor followed up on the 1st, supporting the Secretary for Education Yang Yun-hung said the day before yesterday that there is no “separation of powers” in Hong Kong, referring to the past that some members of the judiciary is talking about the “division of labor. She believes that the three powers should have their own duties, checks and balances and coordination; executive power, legislative power, judicial power is not “with the central separation of powers of the constitutional system”, but from the central authority; an executive-led structure to implement the central authority to perform the system in the SAR, “and the core of the executive-led is the”. Chief Executive”.
Mrs. Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor continued to point out that the public misunderstood this issue in the past, the current government to correct the source, set things right, “the right thing to say to have the courage to say”. The Hong Kong Bar Association said in a statement Wednesday that the separation of powers is clearly defined in articles 48, 59, 64, 73, 80 and 85 of the Basic Law, and that it is unfounded for Mrs. Lam and Mr. Yeung to suggest that the HKSAR does not operate under the principle of separation of powers. The statement also criticized that the statements made by Carrie Lam and Yang Yun-hung “deviate from previous statements made by the two Chief Justices, leading the public to speculate on how the government operates under the current constitutional and legal framework.”
The Hong Kong Bar Association’s statement pointed out that the powers and functions of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary are clearly defined in various parts of Chapter IV of the Basic Law, and that in court proceedings, especially judicial reviews, “the government often relies on the different functions of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary as defenses to the legality of executive decisions and the constitutionality of laws enacted by the Legislative Council”. The Chief Executive’s Office is directly accountable to the Central People’s Government.” In response to Carrie Lam’s claim that the HKSAR derives its power from the Central People’s Government and that the CE’s Office is directly accountable to the Central People’s Government, the statement suggested that “this does not in any way affect the clear provisions in the Basic Law on how the HKSAR is to be governed at the local level.”
Regarding Mrs. Lam’s statement that the courts deal with legal issues, not political issues, and that political issues are matters for the executive or the legislature, the Bar Association sees no contradiction with the separation of powers, “of which it is an integral part”. The Hong Kong Bar Association pointed out that “a government operating under the principle of the separation of powers has three branches: the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, with checks and balances to prevent excessive concentration of power and abuse, and to strengthen the rule of law. The statement concluded, “Therefore, the Association considers that the assertion by the Chief Executive and the Secretary for Education that the HKSAR does not operate under the principle of separation of powers is unfounded and inconsistent with the provisions of the Basic Law which clearly stipulate and define the separation of powers.”
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