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Patten tells China

to listen to

differing voices

HONG KONG: Hong Kong governor Chris Patten gave warning on Sunday of more trouble ahead if China did not open up to divergent opinions in the colony as it prepared to return to Chinese rule in 1997.

In his Letter to Hong Kong broadcast on government radio, Patten said Chinese officials should seek advice from a wider range of opinion than they did now.

"Maybe Chinese officials can turn a deaf ear for a time to the views and voices of those who represent Hong Kong's majority. But those views and voices won't fall silent," he said.

Hong Kong has been shaken by China's moves to curb democratic rights after the 1997 handover. It has said it will replace Hong Kong's elected legislature with an appointed body and exclude members of the popular Democratic Party.

Patten said: "You can try to trample on institutions, but you can't just snuff out the spirit of democracy; you can't smother a growing civic consciousness in Hong Kong.

"It is one the oldest lessons in history, that if you try to shut people up who have a good argument and a good reason for putting it, you'll bring trouble down on your head."

Patten's call comes at the conclusion of an eight-day visit by a top China official. Lu Ping, head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, drew demonstrations after pro-democracy activists accused China of refusing to listen to dissenting voices.

While his trip to the territory was to solicit views, Lu played cat and mouse with protesters and hunger strikers, slipping out of back doors from meetings to avoid embarrassing scenes.

In one encounter his chauffeur-driven car ran over a policeman's foot in the rush to get away from hecklers. His evasive tactics prompted a stinging remark from Patten.

"I've never in four years (as governor) left anywhere in Hong Kong by the back door and I never will," Patten told Hong Kong legislators last week.

Professor Werner Meissner of Hong Kong's Baptist University said the week's events did not bode well for the territory.

"The circumstances of Lu Ping's visit, the demonstrations ...the fact that officials from the mainland have to slip out of the territory by the back door clearly indicate that tensions in Hong Kong are rising and have reached a dangerous point," he said.

"Violent demonstrations cannot be excluded in the future. This is the very negative impact following Beijing's strategy to shut out all critical (legislators)."

With just over 430 days before Hong Kong reverts to China after over 150 years of colonial rule, major issues concerning its transition remain unresolved.

In a meeting between the British and Chinese foreign ministers in The Hague on Saturday, both sides still differed on China's plan to disband Hong Kong's elected legislature and replace it with a Beijing-appointed one.

One positive note was the agreement that Hong Kong civil servants should stay on after the handover, which was welcomed by the Hong Kong government on Sunday.-Reuter