From: lyndon@Sol34.essex.ac.uk (Lee L C H)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china,soc.culture.hongkong
Subject: Re: PRC wants to abrogate Joint Declaration on HK
Keywords: Democracy, Hong Kong, 1997
Date: 21 Nov 92 18:28:19 GMT
Reply-To: lyndon@essex.ac.uk (Lee L C H)
Organization: University of Essex, Colchester, UK

In article <1992Nov19.175810.1475@tamsun.tamu.edu> x0y3510@tamuts.tamu.edu (Xuejun Yang) writes:
>In article <1992Nov19.083756.19372@pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu> wing@pegasus.com (Wing Ng) writes:
>>Copyright 1992 The New York Times
>>November 18, 1992  Late Edition  A1 and A11
>>China Threatens Hong Kong Treaty by Nicholas D. Kristof
>> 
>>>         Beijing,  Nov.  17  -- China  has sharply  escalated  its
>>> dispute with the British and Hong Kong authorities by threatening
>>> to  scrap  the 1984 agreement that promised Hong  Kong  continued
>>> political  and  economic  freedom for 50 years after  the  colony
>>> returns to Chinese control in 1997.
>>>
>>>         The  threat  was  made on Monday night  by  Deputy  Prime
>>> Minister  Zhu Rongji,  who was in London for talks  with  British
>>> officials.
>> 
>>  .....
>>
>>Sorry, the foreigner U.K. cares about our well-being (to some extent),
>>whereas the gangster group that now controls our motherland does
>>not.  It would rather let HK go down the drain than let it have
>>more democracy.
>> 
>>Of course, more proof is really not needed, that gangster group
>>perpetrated 6.4, right in its own capital.
>> 
>>Wing
>
>I fully sympathasize with what the HK people feel. But to mainly blame
>CCP, in my opinion, is showing that you have right played into the
>British hands. The real reason behind this disputes is to get a bigger
>share of the HK's dollars. The British uses this universally popular
>word "Democritization" as a main bargaining chip. I also want to see
>more democracy. What is odd is the timing of the British intentions
>to democritize KH. Why do they pop this thing up only after the new
>airport talks break down? What have they been doing in the past 100
>years? And more recently, when they are discussing the turnover of
>HK with CCP? You have to question the true reason of the British.
>They want to get as much money out of HK and create as much debt
>for the future HK government as possible. So don't be tricked by
>the smiling British. They could be worse-meaning than the grim-looking
>CCP. Because it's in CCP 's interest not to mess up HK's financies.
>After all, the British are leaving and its the CCP that inherits 
>whatever the British might leave behind.
>Simply put, its money that is the true reason.

I don't agree with you that that's the matter of money at all in these
disputes. 

Although I don't like UK's colonialism, I have to admit that HK and UK DID
create an economic miracle. It is true that UK had not promoted democracy
in HK in her about 100 years government, however, HK people enjoyed the
grestest possible freedom, if I may say so, in all Chinese dominated countries/
areas. 

It is also a common misunderstand that UK is trying to get money from HK. The
financial records in HK Government will be annually audited. And the public 
could estimate the reserve of the government from year-to-year surplus 
(although the government had disclosed her reserve and it is higher than
the general estimation). All government expenditures are opened. So every
dollar is counted and UK couldn't possibly get money from HK without running
the risk of known to the public. The only advantages that UK can enjoy are
that for some major contracts UK company may bid successfully in a better
chance (this is what I guess). However, for everyday commodity, I think most
HK people will agree with me that UK goods are not popular in HK - for wine we
prefer French, for car we prefer Japanese or German, ... I hardly think there
is anything we prefer British!

And people may argue that UK is trying to use all the HK's reserve to build
the new airport and British company would get a lot of benefit out of it.
First of all, I agree that the new airport must be built as soon as possible.
If there is a referendum in HK about whether the airport should be built even
if it will cost a lot. In my opinion, it is very likely that the referendum
will pass. 

So the only question remained is that whether UK company would get more benefit
during the construction of the new airport. As far as I know, there is a lot
of accusation that British company did obtain more contracts than others.
I have to admit that I strongly dislike such "policy". However, as the public
are getting more sensitive to the bidding of contractors so HK government, 
even if she want to, would find it difficult to "offer" more to British company
without pressure. 

Moreover, the new governor Christ Patten may tie his political future in
governing HK. I doubt that if he would be getting any good if the last  
British's colony would turn out a mess, although many colonies were a mess 
when they became independent.

On the other hand, PRC is apparently doing no good at all to HK. First of all,
she insisted HK to be handover to China. During the 1982-84 negotition, there
was a run on HK dollars and stock market. After the 1989 massacre, PRC described
HK as a "the frontier base of anti-communism" which gave rise a lot of 
confrontation between HK people and PRC - at the expense of HK economy.
For the airport negotiation, PRC ignores the urgency of a new airport and 
continues to argue the financial arrangement, which has effectively delayed
the construction of the new airport. And I am told that the new airport is 
nearly impossible to finish before 1997. 

I don't know, really don't know. Who is trying to get money from HK - the 
British or the PRC. PRC ALWAYS welcomes the investment from HK, and be very
friendly to the big businessmen whey they visit PRC. However, when MANY ordinary
people in HK ask for more democracy - more direct participation in the policy
making in THEIR home land, their hopes are killed by PRC, replacing by
threatening of revoke of 84 Sino-Agreement, revoke of what British will have
done in HK, etc.

Who cares about HK people?

Lyndon Lee

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Lyndon Chi-Hang LEE                   | Department of Computer Science
Email: lyndon@sx.ac.uk                | University of Essex
Tel: +44 (0)206 872150 (Office)       | Wivenhoe Park
     +44 (0)206 873572 (Home)         | Colchester, CO4 3SQ
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I know you believe you understand what you think I said,
but I am not sure you realise that what you heard is not what I meant.
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Newsgroups: soc.culture.china