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The Convenor of the Working Group on Overseas Community under the Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Dr Eugene Chan, visited Toronto today (November 12, Toronto time) to share Hong Kong's experience in implementing the Basic Law in the past 15 years as well as how the Basic Law serves as a driving force for Hong Kong to keep forging ahead.
Speaking at a lunch seminar on the"Implementation of the Basic Law in Hong Kong", co-organised by the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association (Toronto Section) and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Toronto, Dr Chan said that the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" has been practised successfully since the Basic Law came into effect on July 1, 1997.
"The HKSAR exercises a high degree of autonomy in accordance with the Basic Law and enjoys executive, legislative and independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication," said Dr Chan.
During the visit today, Dr Chan also met with university students to brief them on how the Basic Law sets the parameters for Hong Kong's political system, economic and external affairs, etc, and offers room for further development. "The 'One Country, Two Systems' principle has been strictly observed since Hong Kong's return to the Motherland in 1997. The Central Government fully supports Hong Kong's economic development to ensure its stability and prosperity," Dr Chan added.
In the meantime, Dr Chan took the opportunity in Toronto to have dinner with Chinese community leaders and education professionals from Hong Kong and present the Chinese Basic Law Debate Contest Awards to the university winning teams. Dr Chan spoke to more than 40 guests that the HKSAR, recognised as "Hong Kong, China", has participated in more than 22 500 international conferences not limited to states, including those organised by the World Trade Organization and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
"The Basic Law provides the blueprint for the HKSAR's future development and safeguards the fundamental rights and freedoms of Hong Kong people," Dr Chan said.
Tomorrow, Dr Chan will participate in the launch of the Hong Kong Basic Law Portal, developed by the Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library at the University of Toronto and served as an online gateway to Basic Law research materials from major institutions around the world. The portal consultants include Hong Kong expert at the Center for East Asian Studies of the Stanford University, Professor Ming K Chan, and the former Director of the Centre for Comparative and Public Law at the University of Hong Kong, Professor Simon Young. The Canada-Hong Kong Library currently maintains the largest collection of both in-print and digital Basic Law-related documents in North America. The portal will provide free access to a most comprehensive collection of Basic Law materials, which will continue to be one of the primary focuses for the library's collection development.
The guests joining Dr Chan to officiate at the ceremony will include Chair of Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Canada Crosscurrents Project, Dr Vivienne Poy; Director of HKETO in Toronto, Miss Gloria Lo; Professor Chan; Chief Librarian of University of Toronto Libraries, Mr Larry Alford; and Director of Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library, Dr Jack Leong.
Ends/Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Issued at HKT 06:16
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