-60and to become the principal officials of the HKSAR in accordance with Article 61”. Departures from equality have to be justified 170. Departures from equality have to be justified. The departure from equality brought about by the requirement of 7 years’ residence cannot be justified. Its effect – and its declared objective, too, it might be added – is essentially to draw a distinction between permanent residents and nonpermanent residents in regard to the right to social welfare. This distinction is drawn in the face of a constitutional guarantee which extends to all residents without distinction. Even treating art. 145 of the Basic Law as far less protective of disadvantaged people than I consider it to be, by no standard of review, test or approach that preserves rather than undermines constitutional guarantees can such a distinction be justified. Basic Needs 171. Nothing more has to be said, but more could be said. We are, after all, concerned with basic needs. On what basis do I say that the present case concerns basic needs? I am prepared to say so on the basis that a right to social welfare, if it is to have any meaningful content, must encompass basic needs at the very least. But it is not necessary to proceed on that basis if one prefers not do so, for the Government accepts that CSSA is there to enable persons to meet their basic needs. The requirement of 7 years’ residence would leave needy members of one category of residents dependent on exercises of discretion or charity in order to meet basic needs. Whatever else the Government may be saying about Hong Kong’s resources, I do not understand the Government to be going to the extreme of saying that those resources are in a state that compels the imposition of a residence requirement of 7 years even though that has the effect of excluding non-permanent residents from the right to social welfare