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Time - Man of the Year
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Time_Man_of_the_Year_Compact_Publishing_3YX-Disc-1_Compact_Publishing_1993.iso
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1993-04-08
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THE WEEKWORLD, Page 21Unsettling Remarks
Beijing's anti-democracy attacks finally shake the Hong Kong
markets
An ominous warning from the highest-ranking Chinese official
yet to speak out against Governor Chris Patten's democratic
reforms finally sent Hong Kong's key barometer of confidence, the
heretofore spook-proof stock market, plummeting nearly 8%. From
London, where Patten coincidentally got a ringing endorsement
from his friend Prime Minister John Major, Zhu Rongji, the
otherwise reform-minded Vice Premier and likely successor to
hard-line Premier Li Peng, said the plans violate the bedrock
1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration preserving Hong Kong's
capitalist ways after the 1997 hand over. He added darkly,
"People ask whether we have to stick to the Joint Declaration,
or whether it should go with the wind."
Zhu's tough remarks are serious. Such a direct warning
from China's most cuddly communist was "carefully measured,"
said a Chinese analyst in Beijing, and proves that reformists
and conservatives agree on the issue. "China," said the
analyst, "will never give in to Patten's proposals." Time is on
China's side, as 1997 quickly approaches. Patriarch Deng
Xiaoping has reportedly urged an unbending stance, advising, "Do
not fear tension." The colony should brace for more of it.