08
Fall
08
Fall
Director of Immigration v. Chong Fung Yuen has caused a series of problems in Hong Kong. In order to resolve the problems, there are three alternatives. First, requesting the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) to interpret the relevant articles of Hong Kong Basic Law by government officials or courts. Second, the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) rules the case again. Third way is to amend the basic law. These resolutions will be analyzed based on the effects on Hong Kong in the aspect of the constitutional framework, rule of law and separation of power. The Hong Kong constitutional framework bases on basic law. Though “One Country, Two Systems (OCTS) and high autonomy is ensured by the PRC, there are still restrictions, e.g. the removal of chief executive can only be performed if he is not able to discharge his duties or refusal of passing the budget for consecutive times after dissolution of Legislative Council (Legco), by Article 52. While the Chinese government has the powers to remove a chief executive, by Article 73(9), removal of chief executive must be “reported” to the Chinese Government. According to Dicey, the rule of law contains three elements: absence of arbitrary power, equality before the law, and supremacy of ordinary law. For Unger, autonomy is essential for the rule of law system, with no interference of externally factors. For Lord Bingham, it includes eight elements. One of the most important one is that different parties exercise the power conferred reasonably; not exceeding the limits.

Separation of powers, by Lord Bingham, refers to the existence of three distinct functions: legislative, executive and judiciary, preventing the centralization of power. According to Peter Wesley Smith, Hong Kong has an executive-led system while resembling the separation of power, as basic law divided into