China Voice: Bedrock for a prosperous Hong Kong

On April 4, 1990, a daring idea was enshrined in legislation and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) was, if not exactly born, certainly conceived.

The Basic Law of HKSAR embodied the vision of "one country, two systems", a pragmatic solution allowing socialist China to incorporate the reality of Hong Kong.

Twenty five years on, and those who benefited should never forget on which ground they stand.

There was no reason to doubt that the Basic Law was the will of Hong Kong society. It took 59-member committee, of whom 23 were from Hong Kong, almost five years to draft. Another committee of 180 Hong Kong locals gathered about 80,000 opinions on the bill during several rounds of review.

The Basic Law has been the rock of HKSAR since its founding in 1997. Under this legal framework, Hong Kong has navigated uncharted waters and prospered, proving the feasibility of "one country, two systems".

Naturally, this law will be the bottom line of any constitutional reform in Hong Kong, which aims at "one person one vote" for electing the city's chief executive in 2017.

Beyond the legal foundation of HKSAR, the Basic Law subject to China's Constitution as Hong Kong is part of China and subject to the Chinese central authority.

Unfortunately some in Hong Kong have failed to get the point. The city has suffered chaos and violence caused by attempts to ignore, or even break, the Basic Law.

Last year's Occupy Central movement was opposed to the election principles set by the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, China's top legislature, mocking them as a "sham" which does not "meet international standards".

They refused to acknowledge the simple fact that it is within the power of NPC Standing Committee to set the principles for constitutional reform and the principles adopted in August are in line with the Basic Law.

The protests deeply divided and scarred Hong Kong. Some went so far as to harass mainland tourists. If the constitutional reform went down their road, it would not improve Hong Kong's governance but tear the city apart.

In next three months, a constitutional reform plan will be brought to the HKSAR legislative council for a vote. Some HKSAR legislators are threatening to veto it while several surveys show it has the support of many.

If the plan is endorsed by the council, Hong Kong will have taken historic step toward democracy.

There is no easy solution since the arrangement of "one country, two systems" is unprecedented.

Only if Hong Kong people uphold the Basic Law will the city overcome its current difficulties. Endi