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Mr. Martin Lee, QC, said on Wednesday that it was important to preserve HK's judicial and legal system on reversion of sovereignty to China because a sound legal system was conducive to investment in HK. On Thursday, a CU Lecturer, Dr. K. G. Mun, said HK's economy should shift back to being industry-led in the interest of our community as a whole. On Friday, Polytechnic lecturer, Miss Priscilla Lau, said local residents should now pay more attention to politics. Closer ties between HK and China would benefit both places, she added.
A commentary in Wen Wei Po said no parallel should be drawn between the Sino- Soviet border dispute and the HK issue; the former being a border dispute inherited from history while the latter involved indisputable Chinese territory. HK was taken over by Britain under its gunboat policy during the Opium Wars. Nor could the HK issue be compared with the Falklands conflict. Argentina had produced proof that the islands were under its jurisdiction long ago while Britain countered by saying British immigrants had been on the island a long time. The Chinese first established an administration in HK as early as 200 B.C. during the Western Han Dynasty. This place was under Chinese rule for more than 2 000 years before it was lost to Britain after the Opium War about 100 years ago, the paper said.
On 9 March, the pro-Taiwan Hong Kong Times hit back at the left-wing press over the issue of the petition outside Government House. A columnist said left-wing papers were now baring their teeth in a posture similar to that of the 1967 disturbances. Communists here would not stand a chance when China took over HK as it was a fact that they were afraid of being posted back to China and seeing Beijing's power extend to HK. This was a nightmare for them.
The March issue of Centre Daily News Monthly said to overdramatise the horrors of China regaining sovereignty over HK would neither get public support nor change China's decision to take back sovereignty. It would only harm HK. HK's economy would collapse and the prosperity ruined if the territory was panicky over the long run. The jittery feeling among local residents was understandable but the outflow of funds and talents were not avoidable
because HK people were not politically far-sighted and policies in China so changable. The most pressing issue now was for China to fulfill its promises.
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MR' REN ZHONGYI RE-ELECTED:
Mr. Ren Zhongyi was re-elected First Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee, several Chinese-language papers, including the left-wing Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po, reported. Only Sing Pao and Centre Daily News, in AFP and Xinhua despatches respectively, reported that the province's Governor, Mr. Liu Tianfu, had resigned. Neither Ta Kung nor Wen Wei mentioned Mr. Liu's resignation in their reports. According to the AFP despatch, Mr. Liu would join a newly-formed Central Advisory Commission, but he would continue to play an active role in provincial affairs. Xinhua did not name any successor to Mr. Liu, but Guangzhou Mayor, Mr. Liang Lingguang, was said to be a possible candidate.
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