Chen Sixi, a vice-director of the Central People’s Government Liaison Office in Macau, said Sunday that the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Macau Basic Law are not functioning parallel to each other but, instead, the Constitution is the “mother law” and the Basic Law is a “sub-law”.
Chen urged Macau’s civil society to “accurately understand” the relationship between the nation’s Constitution and the Macau Basic Law.
Chen made the remarks during a seminar organised by the Macau Legal Workers Association at Federal Restaurant. The seminar was held on the eve of the nation’s Constitution Day.
Chen pointed out that the Constitution applies to the whole nation – including its two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
He underlined that the Macau Basic Law can only be in force in Macau under the proviso that the Constitution is also in effect in the city.
Chen urged civil society to launch education campaigns to promote the “correct” relationship between the Constitution and the Basic Law.
Chen said that some locals, both from the patriotic and the “anti-government” camps, had the misunderstanding that that the Constitution and the Basic Law existed parallel to each other and that the Basic Law was separate from the Constitution.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On said in a statement also Sunday that the nation’s Constitution is not only the legal basis of the establishment of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) but also the legal foundation of the Macau Basic Law.
Chui issued the statement on the eve of Constitution Day, which was designated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) in November 2014.
Chui pointed out that also in Macau the Constitution has the highest legal status, authority and force. The chief executive underlined that without the Constitution, the Macau Basic Law would not exist and without “one country”, its “two systems” could not exist.
Therefore, Chui said the Constitution and the Basic Law are inseparable. Chui also said that Macau must further consolidate its awareness of the importance of the Constitution in order to firmly safeguard the country’s sovereignty and national security.
