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these interests, capitalistic Hong Kong and socialist China had
been able to co-exist harmoniously for more than four decades,
and China is willing to allow Hong Kong to maintain its
capitalistic system after 1997 under the formula of 'one country,
two systems. After the conclusion of the Sino-British Joint
Declaration, the ties between Hong Kong and China have
multiplied. Economic interdependency of the two societie has in
fact increased. Nevertheless, there is a tendency among Hong Kong
Chinese to stress the incompatibility of interests between China
and Hong Kong, and they are prone to define Hong Kong-China
relationship in conflict terms. For example, in my 1988 survey,
56.3 percent of respondents were of the opinion that China's
interests conflicted with those of Hong Kong (only 27.8 percent
thought differently). Such an a priori definition of the
relationship between Hong Kong Chinese and their future political
master is certainly not conducive to cordial encounter between
them. Actions taken by China that are of benefit to Hong Kong are
gratuitously taken for granted and soon forgotten, whereas those
that are seen as in contravention of Hong Kong's interests will
immediately become issues pitting Hong Kong against China, the
most serious incident of Hong Kong-China confrontation being the
Daya Bay nuclear plant controversy in 1986. As there will be an
inexorable increase in China's participation in local affairs,
Hong Kong-China conflict will remain a troublesome issue in the
short-term. Not surprisingly, the June 4 event in China in 1989
has aggravated the turbulent relationship between them. Though it