double-skinned crabsVietnamese crab exporter
Advertisement
Hong Kong politics
Opinion
SCMP Editorial
Editorial
SCMP Editorial

Executive-led model key to Hong Kong’s success

With the city’s new legislature in place, it is time to further reinforce the executive-led system laid out in the constitutional order

2-MIN READ2-MIN
Listen
The Hong Special Administrative Region and Chinese national flags outside the Legislative Council complex on March 19, 2024. Photo: Jelly Tse
SCMP Editorial
Editorials represent the views of the South China Morning Post on the issues of the day.
Hong Kong’s political order is being reshaped after the national security law and all-patriots electoral revamp. The latest emphasis by Beijing on the importance of the executive-led governance system underlines the need for the city to better understand the spirit of this reform and strengthen cooperation among the executive, legislative and judicial branches under the Basic Law and “one country, two systems”. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office chief highlighted the task ahead in an address at a closed-door seminar organised by the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank.

“Although the executive, legislative and judicial branches have their respective divisions of labour, their ultimate goal is the same,” said Xia Baolong. “They perform on the same stage – they should support one another rather than pull the rug out from under each other.” The executive-led system is a natural requirement under the constitutional order and pivotal to the city’s prosperity and stability.

The executive-led model is not a political slogan. It is a constitutional design rooted in both China’s Constitution and the Basic Law. It places the chief executive at the core of governance. The chief executive is responsible to both the central government and the special administrative region while the executive, legislative and judicial branches perform the functions spelled out in the Basic Law and work together for the common good of Hong Kong.

Xia’s remarks are the clearest affirmation yet of the importance of the executive-led system under the constitutional order. With the new legislature in place, the system should be further reinforced to ensure it is implemented accurately and effectively.

Select Voice
Select Speed
1x
AI-generated voice