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Later in the week, the paper published a lengthy article by prominent local businessman, Mr. T.K. Ann, who said the economies of HK and China could complement each other. Local residents must be prepared to bring this society to a higher plane. They should value the funds here and the environment which attracted overseas funds; provide an incentive to those industries which provided employment opportunities; and keep local talent here to serve China as well. Local businessmens' experience in doing business with foreigners would be a great help to China.
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LEFT-WING PRESS THEMES:
Propaganda in the left-wing press, notably Wen Wei Po and Ta Kung Pao, continued during the week. In an article entitled "HK people to administer HK to eliminate unfairness", a Ta Kung Pao commentator said despite the fact that 99 per cent of the population in HK were Chinese the majority in the higher echelons were British. Chinese people with higher professional qualifications would still have to work under the British. There was also a big gap in remuneration between expatriates and Chinese. Expatriates were given housing and travelling allowances and so on which were not available to the Chinese. Qualifications obtained in China were not recognised here, whether they were in the medical profession, engineering, teaching, or accountancy. The Chinese language was always inferior. The Governor and official councillors were always authoritative when it came to the question of who should have the say. Although for example one no longer saw Indian policemen kicking the backsides of Chinese, and the restriction on the mid-levels as a residential area for expatriates only no longer existed, could we say that the Chinese and the British were equal?
Later in the week, a commentary in the readers' forum said local residents' feeling on the 1997 question was similar to that of the American negroes when Lincoln emancipated them. The negroes wanted to be emancipated, but they feared that they could not make a living afterwards without realising that the white masters had to depend on them to make a living. It said the Chinese now dominated virtually every business and the Government. They were responsible for decision-making in almost every sphere of activity. Hence, local residents should not have the slightest doubt of their ability to manage HK properly. In so saying, it did not mean that there should be discrimination against expatriates. Chinese residents liked to work and mix with them.
Wen Wei Po said editorially that HK businessmen who invested in China showed faith in China's open policy and had got results. It said these investors enjoyed the privileges of having facilities imported into China with tax exemption; and positive support from China in manpower and resources. They could also decide their own form of management. This, coupled with cheap land prices and wages, would increase the competitiveness of HK's products.
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