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system unilaterally and let it die a natural death after
it is proved to be unviable.
Britain has much to benefit from the second
option. It is because during the process of consultation, Britain can have regard to Beijing's "face" and, at the same time, influence Beijing's wishes in the process, thus enabling her own wishes to be accepted and realized to
some extent.
It would be to the advantage of both
sides if the new political system receives the full support
of Beijing.
Tacit understanding reached on question of constitution
We have pointed out before that Britain's
strategy during Luce's time was inclined towards the first
option. Renton's appointment will provide a timely
opportunity for Britain to change her strategy to a more
flexible and sensible one.
Are personnel reshuffles like the replacement
of Luce by Renton necessarily related to policy adjustments?
People may well take time to observe future developments
without having to arrive at a hasty conclusion. However, from Renton's talks with Wu Xueqian, Ji Pengfei and
Zhou Nan, we can get the impression that the great controversy
over Hong Kong's political system, that is to say, the
question of whether major changes are called for, has come to a stop. The British and Chinese governments had effected a frank exchange of opinion through diplomatic
channels and resolved the argument over the constitutional issue by adopting the usual method of "mutual understanding
and accommodation". An AP despatch from Beijing dated 20 January read : "The British Minister of State for Foreign
and Commonwealth Affaris hinted on Monday that the brakes
have been applied to constitutional reforms towards further democratization in Hong Kong". A Reuters despatch pointed
out : "Mr. Renton remarked that the views of the Chinese
Land