From: Wing Ng <wing@pegasus.com>
Subject:      Reply to comments on HK democracy
Reply-To: Wing Ng <wing@pegasus.com>
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 03:20:20 GMT
Comments: To: china-nt@uga.cc.uga.edu, members@ahkcus.org

Shizhong Chen <humu!SDSC.EDU!chen@molly> writes:
> Subject:      Re:  Reply to some comments on HK democracy
> From: wing@PEGASUS.COM (Wing Ng)
>
> Shizhong Chen writes:
> > Yesterday, I read a New York Times article on Hong Kong. The main
>   criticism
> > I have towards the British Government is not that they promote more
>   democracy
> > now, but why they did not do that earlier. It is indeed very
disgraceful
>   of
> > them to disallow Chinese people in Hong Kong their rights until now
when
>   the
> > British control is no more than five years.
>
> Since   1946,   the  British  wanted  to  introduce  an   elected
> legislature.  It was then opposed by local conservatives.   Since
> 1949,  CLAIM THE BRITISH, they have been warned by the PRC NOT to
> introduce any democracy in Hong Kong.
>
> *****************************************************************
>
> I admit that I know very little about Hong Kong.  If I had anyhow
> hurt anyone from Hong Kong because of that,  I apologize.  What I
> was  trying  to  say is that the current  proposals  for  broader
> democratization is overdue.

No hurt feelings at all :-).

> To those who oppose/challenge/doubt the Hong Kong democratization
> proposals   for  different  reasons  (related  to   the   British
> Government),  let me post this question:  if the current proposal
> and  the  campaign for it touched off a violent crack  down  from
> CCP/PLA  (CG agency in Hong Kong already warned of  "rioting  and
> bloody  confrontation" to a pending street campaign by the United
> Democrats  of Hong Kong to support the broader  democratization),
> who  are you going to support and who are you going  to  condemn,
> the  Hong Kong People or the CCP?  Why do you support and condemn
> the respective party?  Now,  I pray this will not happen,  and  I
> know  some  experts can give analysis to the  situation/solutions
> that   they  will  justify  to  be  more  complicated  than   the
> hypothetical question.  But,  the principle is very  simple:  you
> support  what you think is right,  and you condemn what you think
> as evil.  I give my answer here:  I support the Hong Kong people,
> and  if condition permits,  I will join them;  and I condemn  the
> CCP.  My  answer  will not change,   unlike  certain  people  who
> "led"/participated/supported  1987/1989 pro-democracy   movement,
> and  later found different reasons to have second thoughts  about
> it!

Well said, I completely agree.  About "who  are you going to
support and who are you going  to  condemn," we in HK had exactly
the same feelings about the events of TAMS in '89.



ls <zhuj@mist.CS.ORST.EDU> writes:
> To: wing@PEGASUS.COM
> Subject: Re:  Reply to some comments on HK democracy
>
> I wonder how come that Chinese citizens are treated equally  only
> happens  in   recent  10 or 15 years!  Is it  something  real  or
> something  only  written in paper.  In America,  racial  problems
> still widely exist in spite of their wonderful laws.  You can see
> these problems in daily news. Have you ever thought this question
> why British treat(ed) Chinese as the second class citizens?
>
> Zhu, Jiang

There is no question that the British acted with colonial master
superiority up to about 20 years ago.  But things change,
situation progressed, as HK became more developed and
internationalized, as HK Chinese take over the economic power
in HK.

The "race" question is quite different in HK than in America.
In America, blacks and whites are stuck with each other.  In HK,
most British are there on assignment temporarily and those cannot
stand the local Chinese can always leave and go back to U.K.

As to the final question, it seems that you expect the answer to
be that the British are more respectful because of a strong China.
That's not relevant at all to the issue at hand.  Nobody is saying
that China should be weak as during the Qing dynasty.  America in
fact gave more respect to Japanese immigrants than to Chinese
immigrants a century ago because Japan became a big power.  HK
people were active last month, working together with Mainland
people, trying to convince CG to stand up to Japand and to press
the Japanese emperor to apologize to China for WW2.  We do not
have to apologize for lack of patriotism.

The issue is NOT of China vs. U.K.  That's not the issue at all.
The issue is why is this current CG so dead set against allowing
more democracy to the people of HK, and to the people of all China ?

Wing
Newsgroups: talk.politics.china