From the Editor

Basic rights versus
efficient administration
     In the past few months the SAR government has been taken to court in two important cases: one on behalf of five child illegal immigrants, and the other on behalf of 278 ethnic Chinese-Vietnamese boat people.
     Both were accompanied by suggestions for amendments to the law. In the case concerning the child illegal immigrants, there was an abrupt amendment to the Immigration Ordinance that delayed the children the execution of their right of abode in the SAR soon after the handover. In the boat people case, a government spokesperson announced there would be a review of the law concerned.
     Whatever the court’s decisions, the government’s attitude demonstrated in both cases was willingness, or even eagerness, to sacrifice the basic rights of a few for the sake of efficient administration.
     While the government has the perfect right to amend the law whenever and wherever it thinks necessary, careful thought should be given to the areas regarding human rights.
     From the second a person is born, he or she is entitled to many basic rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
     It should also be noted that the unhindered enjoyment of such basic rights enables a person to work his or her way to achievements, to create and explore and thus enjoy fulfilment in life. This constitutes a vital part of a society’s stability and success.
     Though the enjoyment of such rights is conditioned by the resources available and the rule of law, these rights should be respected by all people and also the government.
     Therefore, the government should not only respect such rights; it should also ensure that they are under the protection of the law.
     However, what the SAR government does is plainly the opposite: it violated the basic rights of the children and the boat people by seeking repatriation and detention, and even justified its actions by seeking to amend the relevant laws.
     Under such a government, sooner or later the people’s way of life will not be “business as usual” anymore.

                                             
                                                                    Sophia Yow
                                                                    Editor-in-Chief
 Letters to the Editor

December 1997

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