All Hong Kong Legislative Councillors who took part in a recent survey said they agree with the principle of "One Country, Two Systems", acknowledge that Taiwan is part of China's sacred territory, and oppose Taiwan independence.

The survey, conducted by Wen Wei Po between September 2 and 8, aimed to gauge legislators' views on the "One Country, Two Systems" principle and the Taiwan issue. It received responses from 41 out of the 60 legislators and was considered to be very representative.

Respondents spanned all major political parties and functional constituencies. Those replying included LegCo President Rita Fan, Chairman of the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance Ambrose Lau, Vice-Presidents of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) Tam Yiu-chung and Ip Kwok-him, Liberal Party (LP) Chairman James Tien, Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Yeung Sum and the convener of the Breakfast Group Eric Li.

The Frontier's Emily Lau, whose recent participation in a Taiwan separatist seminar has sparked an outcry from various sectors of society, refused to fill out the questionnaire.

Among the seven questions asked, three received unanimous answers. They were on the "One Country, Two Systems" principle, Taiwan as the sacred territory of China and opposition to Taiwan separatism.

Although all respondents agree to the "One Country, Two Systems" principle, the 11 DP legislators taking part in the survey did not give an answer when they were further asked whether or not they thought "One Country" should be the People's Republic of China.

When asked if the ultimate decisions on national unity and territorial integrity should fall on the entire 1.3 billion Chinese people, 29 agreed while 12 did not give a response, including Rita Fan and DP legislators.

When asked for their approval or not of Emily Lau's pro-independence remarks, the 11 DP members and eight LP members taking part in the survey did not answer. Rita Fan didn't either because of her position as LegCo president.

In the final question on whether or not Hongkongers in a public capacity should uphold the "One China" principle, 30 law-makers agreed and the 11 DP members declined to answer.

(China Daily HK Edition September 11, 2003)