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And it is around this subject, the pace and direction of
reform and the structure of the legislature after 1997,
that a debate is going on in Hong Kong right now.
The process is complicated by the change of
sovereignty. We wish to take full account of the views of
the people of Hong Kong on reforms before 1997. And the
Chinese Government are engaged in writing, and consulting
the people of Hong Kong on Hong Kong's constitution the
"Basic Law" for after 1997. It is a complex process, and
the outcome is not yet clear.
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But there is no disagreement
over the ultimate goal: a legislature for the post 1997
Special Administrative Region which is fully elected by one
means or another.
Sometimes when we look forward it is also useful
to look back. Ten years ago none would have forecast where
we would be now. None would have believed, for example,
that the economy of southern Chine would develop so
rapidly.
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For a quarter of a century, Hong Kong and China
had been unnaturally closed off from one another a legacy
of the Korean war. Since 1978, that relationship has
gradually returned to a natural and normal one. HK's
historic middleman role in trade between China and the rest
of the world has been reborn. And it has expanded with
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