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EDITORIALS
THERE WERE TO EDITORIALS AND A NUMBER OF COMMENTARY COLUMNS TODAY. THE HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES IN AN EDITORIAL NOTED THAT FROM MR PATTEN'S WRITINGS, HE WOULD PUT BRITISH INTERESTS IN THE FOREFRONT. TO ENSURE A CONTINUATION OF BRITISH ECONOMIC INTERESTS AFTER 1997, HE WAS LIKELY TO DEVOTE MUCH OF HIS EFFORT TO FURTHER DEVELOPING GOOD RELATIONS WITH CHINA. A FERVENT BELIEVER IN QUOTE CONSERVATISM UNQUOTE WOULD NOT AGREE THAT POLITICS WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN LIFE, BUT FRIENDSHIP, KINSHIP, BOOKS, RELIGION AND MUSIC, ETC. THIS WOULD ENRICH ONE'S LIFE AND WAS IN LINE WITH THE THINKING OF HK PEOPLE. THE PAPER SAID WE WOULD WAIT AND SEE HOW MR PATTEN WAS GOING TO SAFEGUARD OUR INTERESTS. SING TAO DAILY'S EDITORIAL STRESSED THAT NO ONE WOULD LIKE TO SEE A CONFRONTATIONAL SITUATION BETWEEN CHINA AND BRITAIN, OR CHINA AND HK. ON THE OTHER HAND, NO ONE WOULD LET BRITAIN SELL OUT HK. TO LEAVE A GLORIOUS CHAPTER IN ITS COLONIAL HISTORY, BRITAIN MUST SEEK TO PROTECT HK PEOPLE'S INTERESTS. THE PAPER HOPED MR PATTEN WOULD NOT LET US DOWN.
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AN ARTICLE IN WEN WEI PO SAID IN THE LONG-TERM HK PEOPLE MUST NOT ONLY COUNT ON THE GOVERNOR FOR BETTER SINO-HK RELATIONS BUT TO RELY ON THEMSELVES TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL. A COLUMNIST IN THE HK COMMERCIAL DAILY HOPED MR PATTEN WOULD USE HIS DISCRETION AND TAKE ONLY SOUND ADVICE FROM THE MANY SUGGESTIONS TO BE PUT TO HIM IN THE DAYS AHEAD. THERE WERE THREE COLUMNS IN THE HK ECONOMIC JOURNAL. ONE COLUMNIST BELIEVED THAT MR PATTEN HAD SET HIS MIND ON SOMETHING BIGGER AND MORE IMPORTANT THAN BEING GOVERNOR OF HK. ANOTHER BELIEVED THAT MR PATTEN WOULD SOON FIND ACCEPTANCE HERE AND BE WELL ON HIS WAY TO START A QUOTE PATTEN ERA UNQUOTE. A THIRD SAID IT WOULD BE SUPERFLUOUS FOR THE GOVERNOR TO PASS ON HIS EXPERIENCE TO MR PATTEN.
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.HONG KONG AGREEMENT
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