in 1984 and the Court of Final Appeal agreement in 1990. With
his political reputation on the line, he will make the exact
argument his predecessors did: if Legislators seek to amend,
Beijing will not accept those amendments and the deal will be
off.
Though the democratically elected members of the Legislative
Council will refuse to see our legitimate decision-making rights
stripped from us in such a fashion, I greatly fear that Mr.
Patten will then choose to rely on his built-in majority of David
Wilson-selected appointees within the Council to assure the
official Legislative Council stamp of approval on this last
British sell-out.
After his impressive start, it is sad to see the change in
Mr. Patten's Governorship. If he indeed goes forward and guts
his own reform plans in a deal with Beijing, and if Britain
decides finally that it will not allow for any significant degree
of democracy in Hong Kong before 1997, there is little reason for
the colonial government to remain.
The takeover of Hong Kong by China will simply have occurred
four years before schedule.
Mr. Martin Lee is Chairman of the United Democrats of Hong Kong and a democratically elected Councillor.
Legislative
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