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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1986
HONG KONG'S PUBLIC RELATIONS WORK, MR CHAN SAID, HAD RECENTLY TAKEN ON A NEW DIMENSION.
+THE SINO-BRITISH NEGOTIATIONS ON THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG DID MORE TO FOCUS ATTENTION ON THE TERRITORY THAN ANY OTHER DEVELOPMENT IN POST-WAR HISTORY,+ HE SAID.
THE EYES OF THE WORLD WERE ON HONG KONG AS THE NEGOTIATIONS UNFOLDED, AND THE WORLD WAS CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN +TO THIS TINY CAPITALIST ENCLAVE IN 1997, WHEN 92 PER CENT OF THE TERRITORY WAS DUE TO BE RETURNED TO SOCIALIST CHINA.+
+EVERYONE EVERYWHERE FOUND OUT A LITTLE MORE ABOUT US THAN THEY HAD EVER KNOWN BEFORE AND I HAVE HEARD VIVID ACCOUNTS OF HOW NEW YORK TAXI DRIVERS WERE EAGERLY SHOWING OFF TO VISITORS FROM HONG KONG THEIR NEWLY-ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROBLEMS WE FACED ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE GLOBE, HE SAID.
BUT THE ONE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE HONG KONG STORY WAS THAT THE UNIQUE AND IMAGINATIVE CONCEPT OF 'ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS,' ON WHICH THE JOINT DECLARATION IS BASED, EXCITED THE INTELLECT OF WORKING JOURNALISTS AND POLITICAL COMMENTATORS THE WORLD OVER.
THERE WOULD PROBABLY BE +A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SCEPTICISM+ AS TO WHETHER, EVEN WITH THE BEST WILL AND THE SINCEREST INTENTIONS ON THE PART OF CHINESE LEADERS, TINY CAPITAL IST HONG KONG WOULD BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO FUNCTION AND PROSPER UNTIL THE MIDDLE OF THE NEXT CENTURY ONCE IT HAD BECOME PART OF GIANT SOCIALIST CHINA.
OBSERVERS IN THE WORLD WOULD, THEREFORE, CONTINUE TO TURN THE IR ATTENTION TO HONG KONG EITHER IN ITS OWN RIGHT OR TO HONG KONG AS PART OF THE MUCH BIGGER CHINA STORY IN WHICH THEY HAD ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED.
MR CHAN SAID THAT A GREAT DEAL OF DETAILED WORK REMAINED TO BE DONE BY BOTH SIDES TO IMPLEMENT THE JOINT DECLARATION AND FOR THE SMOOTH TRANSITION IN 1997. AS FOREIGN OBSERVERS WOULD AT TIMES FACE PROBLEMS IN TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON, IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR HONG KONG THAT THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND OUR SITUATION AND BE ABLE TO SEE THINGS IN THEIR TRUE PERSPECTIVE, HE SAID,
+WE MUST STRIVE TO GET THROUGH TO THE REST OF THE WORLD THAT HONG KONG STILL IS, AND WILL FOR A LONG TIME REMAIN A WORTHY TRADING PARTNER AND A PLACE IN WHICH THEY CAN SAFELY INVEST THEIR CAPITAL, MR CHAN SAID.
THE BULK OF HONG KONG'S OVERSEAS EFFORTS WOULD +CONTINUE TO BE DEVOTED TO THE KIND OF WORK THAT NEVER GETS INTO THE HEADLINES, NAMELY THE PERSONAL CONTACTS WITH FOREIGN POLITICIANS, OFFICIALS, BUSINESSMEN, THE MEDIA, AND INDEED, ANYONE WHO CAN HELP TOWARDS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HONG KONG.
/+NEEDLESS TO ............