HONG KONG's colonial Governor, Mr Chris Patten, yesterday refused a request by the future leader of the territory, Mr Tung Chee-hwa, to support the interim legislature that China will install there when the British depart.
Mr Tung, a shipping magnate, emerging from his first meeting with Mr Patten since being chosen on December 11th by a China controlled committee to head Hong Kong from next July 1st, told reporters that the governor flatly refused to provide any help to the new legislature in the running to the transfer of sovereignty.
I brought up the work of the provisional legislature. I hope Mr Patten and the Hong Kong government can give help," Mr Tung told reporters outside Government House, Mr Patten's residence. "But Mr Patten's position was very clear. I didn't successfully convince him."
Both men emerged from the 11/2 hour meeting to exchange hearty handshakes and make brief speeches to the press, but mentioned little else of what transpired behind closed doors. Describing the discussion as "long and constructive", both said they agreed to meet in the future when the need arose.
The meeting was conducted under a cloud of strained SinoBritish relations after China snubbed British objections and went ahead last Saturday with naming the provisional legislature that will replace the current elected Legislative Council (Legco) when Hong Kong returns to Chinese control 190 days from now.
The interim assembly was designed by China to reverse electoral reforms that Mr Pat ten introduced unilaterally in recent years.
Mr Patten lashed out at the new body on Saturday, calling its appointment by a 400 member Selection Committee "a bizarre farce" and a "stomach churning" process. "What it shows about China is that, here it is taking over responsibility for a First World economy but they're trying to foist on us political institutions which a Third World country would reject. Here we arc having foisted on us institutions which, frankly, you wouldn't try to run a tennis club with," he said.
China, however, has warned Britain against creating problems and to keep out of Hong Kong's affairs after the hand over. China's envoy in Hong Kong, Mr Zhou Nan, told reporters that if Britain wanted to create more trouble, I don't think it will be out of the ordinary."
The controversial new body is dominated by pro Beijing figures, including 33 incumbent lawmakers and many politicians who lost to pro-democracy candidates in the 1995 Legco election.
The European Trade Commissioner, Sir Leon Brittan, yesterday expressed optimism that Hong Kong would hold fair and open elections after Britain returns it to China.
"We welcome the generally accepted working hypothesis that further elections will take place in the SAR [Special Administrative Region] at an early date, within the framework set by the Basic Law," Sir Leon said in a statement issued in Hong Kong. "We trust that this will happen in a matter of months after handover, and that those elections will be both fair and open, "he added. "We shall follow closely events in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region."
Sir Leon notes that the EU had a strong interest in a stable and prosperous future for Hong Kong people, while the European Council's December meeting in Dublin recalled in particular its full support for the rights of SAR citizens to live under democratic representative institutions.