this will be markedly different from that of Hong Kong. Hong Kong exists as it is only because it has accommodated people and groups of widely different ideologies in a pluralistic society. That is now threatened.
It is possible to understand the system envisaged in the Agreement as one similar to the existing Chinese system. There are, consequently, doubts about whether the new system for Hong Kong will be more democratic or less democratic than at present, unless one assumes that the present Chinese system
A test will be whether is more democratic than the present Hong Kong system. pro-Taiwanese newspapers and Unions will be allowed to continue to operate in Hong Kong, though my own feeling is that this question is tantamount to asking whether China will permit Hong Kong to be a base for subversive activities.
11
Paragraph 1 of the Annex states that "the socialist system and socialist policies shall not be practiced in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and that "Hong Kong's previous capitalist system and lifestyle shall remain unchanged for fifty years. Again, this is felt to be too vague, and virtually incapable of implementation. Apart from other considerations, it is pointed out that some of Hong Kong's existing policies, such as policies over public housing, are already socialistic.
The provision in the Agreement about the stationing of the People's Liberation Army in Hong Kong is one which has given rise to substantial fears, hardly
These mitigated by the explanation offered in paragraph 12 of the Annex. fears will become greater unless the Basic Law lays down quite clearly that the deployment of the People's Liberation Army, for purposes other than defence against external threat, shall be done only with the authority of the
What is feared is the Chief Executive of the Special Administrative Region. principle enunciated by Mao Tsetung himself, that "government comes from the mouth of the gun barrel". It is difficult to see how the defence of China will be significantly improved by the stationing of the People's Liberation Army on Hong Kong soil.
A Response from British Churches
I think christians in Hong Kong are looking for support in two directions.
The first is in a campaigning mode. Hong Kong christians are looking for support in their demand that directly elected democratic institutions of
The people of government be set up in Hong Kong as expeditiously as possible. Hong Kong will be secure only if they are the subjects of their own destiny and not just the objects of other peoples decisions. Security therefore does not lie ultimately in the terms of the Agreement, but in the capacity of the people of Hong Kong to make effective decisions about how they will be
A way of life to which every governed, about the kind of life they will live. citizen feels committed, and towards which everyone makes a contribution, can be brought about only when the people themselves are given the opportunity to control their own affairs. No better way of ensuring this has yet been devised than a representative government elected on the basis of a universal adult sufferage. The Draft Agreement acknowledges that the British Government will be responsible for the administration of Hong Kong until 1997, and therefore how power will be given to the people is in part a British responsibility.
The people of Hong Kong want the rest of the world to show its confidence in the terms of the Agreement, and to respect the administrative, juridical and legal functions which, under the Agreement, will become the responsibility of the Special Administrative Region. In particular, this means that the rest of the world must recognise and respect travel documents issued by the Government of Hong Kong, China. It is up to the British Government to demonstrate by its
9
1
of
S