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As regards the period before 1997, most people believe
that only if prosperity and stability are maintained in the next
thirteen years can there be any hope that prosperity and stability
would continue for fifty years after 1997. People are worried
that in order to reach an early accord, the Governments of China
and Britain may come to an Agreement which will be lacking in
detail and meaningless. This would lead to a loss of confidence,
an exodus of professional and talented people, an outflow of
capital, a lack of investment; resulting in economic recession in
Hong Kong. Furthermore, people are worried that the jostling for
power in the next 13 years may threaten the stability and
prosperity of Hong Kong, forcing China to interfere or take over
Hong Kong before 1997.
As regards the period after 1997, most people similarly believe that if there is no confidence in the arrangements after 1997, it would not be possible to maintain prosperity and
stability in the 13 years before 1997. In particular, there are three main worries about post-1997 arrangements:
First, people are worried that instead of
genuinely being administered by the people of
Hong Kong, the future Government of Hong Kong
would actually be administered from Beijing.
Although China may not send any cadres to
Hong Kong, the people administering Hong Kong in the future Government of Hong Kong may in fact be controlled by Beijing.
Second, people fear that the middle and lower
level cadres who are responsible for the implementation of China's policy over Hong
Kong may not be able to accept the capitalist
systems and lifestyle of Hong Kong. They may not implement the policy of the central Government of China and they may interfere in
the local administration.