TNAG-2457-FCO40-3578-Future-of-Hong-Kong-constitutional-development-presentation-1992 — Page 49

be any political upheaval, notwithstanding booming economic developments, Hongkong will still be like a balancing scale which has lost its balance.

Although both China and Britian are engaged in a war of words, it does not mean that there is no turning point. Patten has left room for manouevre. In his various recommendation for political reforms, particularly in regard to the arrangement for the 1995 Hongkong Election, he declared that it is only a recommendation pending China's official acknowledgement. Politics is but a matter of compromise with mutual understanding and accommodation. Some are of the opinion that this may be Patten's ingenious strategy. It is possible that in the future he may agree to give in politically (political reforms) in exchange for China's return of favour economically (airport expenses). At the end of this month, Patten will will be going north to visit Beijing as originally planned. This will of course be a difficult trip for him. However, as he has the bargaining power to manouever, it is not impossible for him to obtain a certain degree of results.

In fact, Hongkong all along has this special feature, its strong aspect is that it could sustain any major adverse economic impact but its fragile side is that it could be vulnerable to political turbulence. In Hongkong's current position, the way to prevent the political argument is to avoid it. Hongkong's strongest edge is its economic strength. From an objective standpoint, the question on whether Hongkong will be able to ride smoothly through the transition lies mainly in its ability to maintain its economic miracle. For the present, although the political problems in Hongkong is a cause of concern for all, however besides politics, there are also many socio-economical problems to be resolved e. g. escalation of property prices resulting in inflation; postponement of the airport negotiation causing undue delay in the date for ground breaking. Further examples of numerous jewellry shop robbery cases, and continuous gunshootings in the bustling city are causes of concern to the Hongkong people as well as to the foreign investors. Faced with such varied mode of problems, it is not known whether the ruling government authorities have drawn up a list of priorities the problems to be tackled.