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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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060589
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06058900.047
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1990-09-17
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WORLD, Page 29Next Door and Eight Years AwayHong Kong demands greater freedom for China -- and itself
The inhabitants of Hong Kong usually reserve their deepest
passions for business, not politics. But last week, in the largest
and most emotional outburst ever seen in the British colony, more
than 500,000 demonstrators marched through Hong Kong's narrow
streets, waving pro-democracy banners and singing anthems like We
Shall Overcome. Including the spectators who cheered and applauded,
an estimated 1 million people, one-sixth of Hong Kong's populace,
turned out to proclaim their support for the embattled students in
China.
The unprecedented outcry reflected Hong Kong's growing anxiety
over its return to China in 1997. A sleek modern city on the South
China Sea, Hong Kong has become a hotbed of capitalism during 147
years of British rule. But Britain's sovereignty is set to run out
under an Anglo-Chinese agreement reached in 1984. Now Hong Kong's
residents, the vast majority of whom are descendants of refugees
from the mainland, scrutinize the crisis in China for clues to the
fate of the colony under Communist control. Declared a banner that
Hong Kong students carried last week: TODAY'S CHINA IS TOMORROW'S
HONG KONG.
Such forebodings have caused Hong Kong to react sharply to each
twist and turn in the power struggle next door. The Hang Seng
index, the main indicator of value of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange,
swung wildly throughout the week. After dropping nearly 11% on
Monday, the index rose 9.3% the next day on signs that the Chinese
crisis might be easing. But the continued unrest in China led to
further whipsawing that left the index at 2765.67 when trading
ended Friday, down a substantial 12% for the week.
While the stock market gyrated, the turmoil in China disrupted
efforts to draft the Basic Law, which will serve as Hong Kong's
constitution after 1997. Talks between Chinese and Hong Kong
negotiators have been under way since 1985. But two key Hong Kong
representatives -- Louis Cha, publisher of the Ming Pao newspaper
group, and Anglican Bishop Peter Kwong -- quit the 55-member
drafting committee after Beijing declared martial law.
The walkouts forced suspension of the delicate talks. Hong Kong
negotiators said they were "temporarily unable to carry out our
work as planned" because events in China "have done great damage
to the Hong Kong people's confidence in the Basic Law." A
preoccupied Beijing canceled a scheduled visit to the colony by Ji
Pengfei, who heads China's office of Hong Kong and Macao affairs.
Once discussions resume, Hong Kong is certain to bargain harder
than ever for protection of its rights.
Half a world away, Britain watched the strife in China with
acute concern. Nonetheless, the government of Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher intends to uphold its pledge to return Hong Kong
to Chinese rule. "We cannot back away from the 1984 agreement,"
said a senior British diplomat. "We have signed it, and we are
committed to it." Said another high official: "Once the situation
settles down in China, it could be for the better. If the reformers
do come out on top, that would be more promising for Hong Kong's
future." By week's end, however, the liberal reformers appeared to
be in retreat.
Yet London adamantly refuses to issue Hong Kong's Chinese
residents, who make up 98% of the population, the first-class
passports that would allow them to settle in Britain if they
choose. As citizens of a British Dependent Territory, the Hong Kong
Chinese cannot emigrate to the United Kingdom without special
permission, which has become increasingly difficult to obtain.
While a House of Commons committee is expected to recommend
loosening the restrictions, most Britons fear that such a move
would lead to an unwelcome new wave of immigration.
Anger at being barred from Britain apparently helped rouse Hong
Kong's slumbering political spirit last week. In an emotional
declaration, Frances Hung, a 24-year-old secretary who braved a
typhoon to participate in a march, asserted, "I am a Chinese
British subject with a British passport, but what does that mean?
Nothing. I cannot leave Hong Kong. The people in Tiananmen Square
are my brothers and sisters. They have the same blood as I do. I
am Chinese." The unaccustomed outpouring of emotion left many
demonstrators teary-eyed. Even the colony's upper crust showed its
support by allowing a racetrack owned by the exclusive Royal Hong
Kong Jockey Club to be used during the massive protests last
Sunday.
Nor did the newfound solidarity end in the streets. Leading
business and professional groups filled Hong Kong newspapers with
ads backing the students in Beijing. "I see this as a positive
development," said a Western diplomat, "because it means people are
beginning to take an active political role and are not just looking
for an exit visa."
The seeds that Hong Kong activists planted last week could
produce wholesome fruit. In the short run, the colony will fight
harder than it might have a few weeks ago for guarantees to
preserve its British-given freedoms once it rejoins China in 1997.
In the long run, Hong Kong residents could find themselves
championing the very same rights on behalf of their compatriots
after the colony returns to the country from which it was wrested
so long ago.