CONFIDENTIAL AND PERSONAL
15. His other problem, I think, is the damaging effect on his standing within the UDHK which the continued cold shouldering of him by Peking is having. I have lost count of the number of personal attacks on him which have appeared in the left wing press here.
CRC members have taken this opportunity to develop the theme that Martin Lee's confrontational relationship with China is bad for Hong Kong and casts doubt on his party's long term political effectiveness. It is difficult to judge whether these views are shared by UDHK members, but there are persistent rumours about Martin Lee's future as leader of the UDHK.
In any event, I am reinforced in my view (expressed in my letter of 29 November) that in the course of the next year or so we shall see the beginnings of a split between those liberals identified as protagonists of China and those liberals whose strength is in the housing estates and grass roots, whose concerns are focussed on socio economic issues and who are strongly committed to remaining in Hong Kong after 1997.
16. In the short term, however, the UDHK and other liberals will continue to focus on the day to day struggle in LegCo with the HKG and their politicl opponents. The political opportunities which flow from LegCo membership will be too tempting and absorbing to allow much time for introspection. But as their frustration over the limitations of their role grows, they are likely to become increasingly strident in their attacks on the HKG and the CRC.
Current Political Issues
17.
Three current issues seem worth picking out and commenting on briefly. One issue which might have been custom designed for the new LegCo is that of the inflated cost of the new University of Science and Technology, which LegCo members of all shades of opinion have latched onto with great zeal. Judging from the figures and the revelations about the way the project has been managed, the affair has the makings of a scandal which could seriously embarrass the HKG, and the Chief Secretary in particular. We have not heard the last of it.
18. The second issue is that of importation of labour. On the merits of the HKG's decision to import a further 25,000 workers, there is not unnaturally a clear division of views between the pro-business CRC and the liberals, who claim to represent the interests of the ordinary man in the street. It has been suggested that had the HKG taken the trouble to lobby UDHK before announcing their proposals, they would have been able to count on UDHK's acquiescence, if not tacit support. But they did not, and are now facing the consequences. The issue is interesting because
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CONFIDENTIAL AND PERSONAL