The Officials who spoke in October included Secretary for General Duties P.B. Williams, Chief Secretary Sir David Akers-Jones, Attorney General M.D. Thomas, the Governor Dir Edward Youde and Deputy Chief secretary A.J. Scott.
An
According to the analysis made by a local academic, wONG Yiu-chung, it is indeed unusual for the 'big bosses' of the hong kong
if P.B. Williams Government to state their views at the same time.
is one of the "hawks", then Sir David is one of the "doves". "unbiased" neutral party is needed to strike a balance between the
views of the two factions. Sir Edward Youde is just the person to
play such a role. At a time when rumours are rife that China opposes "direct elections" and "the transfer of power to the people", the Hong Kong Government made its position known to China by employing either hard or soft tactics. The hard tactics were employed by those represented by Mr Williams. This group opined that since Hong Kong would still be ruled by U.K. in the transition period, China would not be consulted on the development of the territory's political system. U.K. has already made preparations against possible instability caused by China's interference with the said development. The "soft" tactics were employed by those represented by Sir David Akers-Jones who tried to persuade China to set its mind at ease by indicating that the Hong kong Government has not hatched any scheme or intrigue, and neither has it decided on a number of sensitive issues such as the introduction of the ministerial system. Edward's attitude of "neither encouraging nor discouraging" party politics is a dialectical accommodation of the views held by Mr
Williams and Sir David.
Sir
The above-mentioned analysis is, of course, not without grounds. However, if one reads carefully into the original remarks made by the various Government officials concerned, one will notice divergent views in respect of their assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of the territory's future development as well as their judgement on the strength and policy decisions of China.
/Hong Kong will.....
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