QUESTION: How could China put on display in Hong Kong the military hardware with which it will equip its garrison when the British leave, without alarming the six million residents of the territory?
Answer: By omitting tanks.
The Chinese government yesterday staged in Hong Kong its biggest ever display of military equipment outside its borders to demonstrate how the British colony will be defended after China assumes sovereignty on July 1st.
Hundreds queued to get into the Hong Kong Convention Centre where Chinese fighter jets and helicopters to defend the territory were on show.
At the opening of the week-long exhibition, the head of Chinese military technology, Mr Wang Tongye, said that the garrison to be stationed in Hong Kong would have China's most advanced equipment. It would have F7 and F8 fighters, state-of-the-art helicopters, warships, speed boats and light armour, he said, but no tanks.
Many Hong Kong people were horrified at the use of armoured vehicles in 1989 to crush the pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Their conspicuous absence from the exhibition was taken by many observers as a confidence-building measure by China, designed to show that the People's Liberation Army is much changed in last eight years.
A top Chinese military official told British officers recently that the PLA feared there would be negative reaction to its presence from Hong Kong people because of memories of its role in Tiananmen Square.
The Chinese military complex is now turning out some less menacing durables - such as motor cycles and photocopiers, which were also on display yesterday.
Meanwhile in Beijing, a senior Chinese official has promised that China will not interfere with the freedom of the press in Hong Kong after the British depart.
"Hong Kong's press freedom will have ample protection under the law after 1997," said Mr Zeng Jianhui, director of China's State Council's information office, at a symposium in Beijing.
"The information and propaganda offices in the mainland will not mutually control or mutually interfere in Hong Kong's media organisations," he said.
Last month, China's Foreign Minister, Mr Qian Qichen, called on the western media to stop criticising Beijing's handling of the takeover and its plans for the territory's administration. Its negative reports should be dropped to ensure a smooth transition, he said.
Mr Li Peng, head of the Hong Kong and Macau affairs office, last month said that the freedom of the press in Hong Kong must be regulated and that it would not be allowed to advocate independence for Hong Kong or Taiwan after China resumes sovereignty.