95 elections should thus be a subject entirely for the people of
Hong Kong to decide.
--
It is a measure of how much Governor Patten has strayed from
his principles that even Sir Percy Cradock his harshest critic
when he announced his democratic reforms is in favour of his
A
new approach. As Sir Percy recently declared in Hong Kong on his
way to Beijing: "Fortunately, now the policy has been changed,
and we're back on track of quiet negotiations
associated with in the past."
a course I was
Unfortunately for the people of Hong Kong, Sir Percy is
right about Mr. Patten's change. The Hong Kong Legislative
Council, which Mr. Patten had repeatedly promised would be able
to decide this year on the laws for the 1995 elections, has been
relegated to the role of a blind-folded spectator as all of Hong
Kong is denied any knowledge of the Sino-British horse-trading
on our internal affairs.
Mr. Patten still promises that if the secret talks do
conclude in an agreement, the Legislative Council will have a
chance to vote on it. However, even now Beijing has taken the
uncompromising position that, as any Sino-British agreement on
the 1995 elections would be between sovereign powers, Hong Kong
Legislative Councillors have no right to amend it. If there is
an agreement, it is all too clear that Mr. Patten will present
the Legislative Council with the same empty "choice" that his
predecessors presented Hong Kong with on the Joint Declaration
4
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