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Thu, Apr 10, 1997
Outrage in Hong Kong over Tung's Plan
also: HK govt. responds to proposed changes; iron ore imports to rise on mainland; direct cross-strait shipping moving forward; Beijing bans German & Netherlands meat; and more . . .Please read the statement of purpose.
Hong Kong: "Outrage in Hong Kong Over Plans to Roll Back Civil Liberties" is a New York Times article reporting on the strong reaction to the proposal put forth by Tung Chee-hwa to limit political activities after July 1.
"On call-in radio shows, in newspapers, and on the streets of Hong Kong, people voiced outrage and apprehension on Thursday over plans that were announced on Wednesday to roll back a series of civil liberties when China takes control on July 1."
The paper quotes Emily Lau, a leader of the democratic party Frontier. "The proposals cast a pall of doubt over the future of every civic, community, and non-governmental organization in Hong Kong. No one in Hong Kong has serious worries about social stability. As a society, of course we do have real problems to tackle -- corruption, for example. But it is perfectly clear that social stability is not one of our problems."
The Hong Kong Government has issued "Commentary on Civil Liberties and Social Order Document". It's in Word 6.0 format, unfortunately; there's no HTML version.
(Note: the New York Times on-line edition is free, but requires that users register a name and password, and therefore first-time users should first introduce themselves on the Times registration page.)
The New York Times also has an article on the future of the territory's political parties. Correspondent Edward Gargan does a very good job in tracing the development of the political culture in the colony. He focuses on the Democratic Party, the Frontier Party and notes the emergence of Man Kuen Dong, or People's Rights Party. The People's rights Party has not been formed yet, but Christine Loh, a legislator, intends to do so soon.
" 'We're in business because we believe political work is important,' said Ms. Loh, who spent a dozen years as a metals trader for Salomon Brothers. But she added: 'We believe in competitive politics, not adversarial politics. What that means is that if you have a good idea, we will acknowledge it. That means we are willing to cooperate with people on other sides of the political divide.'
"It is not clear yet who Ms. Loh's party members will be, although her insistence on focusing on environmental and economic issues as well as her own political flexibility does appeal to many young professionals here who regard the Democratic Party as intransigent."
Gargan writes, unlike such notable Hong Kong democrats as Emily Lau and Martin Lee, Loh has made overtures to Beijing, although like her counterparts she considers the provisional legislature as illegitimate. In any case, the emergence of the People's Rights Party might be reflective of broader changes in the political attitudes of Hong Kongers.
Gargan writes, in a poll taken before yesterday's announcement of the proposed regulations half of the respondents worried about their personal freedom after Jul 1. Yet, the poll also reveals that "sentiment toward China has shifted as well, with a mix of enthusiasm and resignation to Chinese sovereignty beginning to reshape attitudes."
Gargan quotes Peter T.Y Cheung, a professor of politics at the University of Hong Kong: "The political culture of Hong Kong is changing. Sometimes too much attention is paid to what the Chinese government is saying. What is important is the domestic sources of change. The Democratic Party is inevitably part of this. We will have to see in fact whether Hong Kong people become more conservative. But I do think, over time, more and more people will tend to be more conservative."
For more information on the changing politics in the territory and the mergence of a new political elite see the Thu, Mar 20, 1997 issue.
Hong Kong: the Hong Kong press office has issued a transcript of Governor Patten's Q-A during a lunch with the British Chamber of Commerce this afternoon. The governor talked about what he thought makes Hong Kong thrive---"autonomy" and "enthusiasm"---and there were other interesting comments by him and others. . . .
Mines: the government announced that it will import more and more iron ore in order to sustain the development of the country's steel industry, reports the China Daily. This will soon make China one of the world's largest consumers of iron ore.
"Statistics indicate that China has 50 billion tons of proven ore reserves. About half can be exploited with existing technology. Current exploration involves 18 billion tons of the reserve supply."
"China produced 250 million tons of iron ore last year, a slight slip of 12 million tons from 1995. But output this year is estimated to be slightly higher."
Iron "ore imports have been increasing since the 1980s. China imported 41.15 million tons of iron ore in 1995, 3.5 times the figure in 1986, according to the statistics."
"China primarily imports iron ore from Australia, Brazil, India and South Africa through annual purchases, foreign contracts, joint ventures and privately owned mines."
Development: vice-Premier Li Lanqing highlighted infrastructure investments, changing consumption patterns among city folks, and increasing marketisation and integration with the world economy. Speaking before the International Chamber of Commerce, currently meeting in Shanghai, he said the country will spend billions of dollars on "crucial infrastructure" projects over the next five years, reports China Daily.
"Li Lanqing said the country's investment in infrastructure -- a precursor to development projects -- will far exceed the World Bank estimate of $280 billion between now and the end of the century."
"Thanks to improved living standards, city residents in China are spending more on private housing, telecommunications, private cars and computers, from previously concentrating on durable like colour televisions and refrigerators."
"The pricing of 85 per cent of farming products, 95 per cent of consumer goods and 80 per cent of capital goods in China is in line with market demand," writes the paper.
Health: the Ministry of Agriculture has banned meat from Germany, Netherlands, reports the China Daily.
"The China Administration of Animal and Plant Quarantine (CAAPQ) has learned that swine fever has infected animals in Germany since January this year."
"The CAAPQ was also informed by Dutch authorities that the disease is also spreading to the southern part of the Netherlands, where a Bovine Spo-ngiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or "mad cow" disease case has been found."
" 'Since the infestation of swine fever in Germany, some 30,000 pigs have been killed,' said a CAAPQ official."
Taiwan: cross-strait direct shipping will be opening soon. Beijing has approved six shipping companies. "The six shipping firms are the Fujian branch of China Ocean Shipping (Group), Fujian Provincial Shipping Co., Fujian Xiamen Shipping Co., Fujian Foreign Trade Center Shipping Co., the China National Foreign Trade Corp.'s Fujian Shipping Co. and Fujian Mawei Shipping Co., it said," writes Inside China.
On the Taiwan side eight shipping firms from Taiwan have filled for permission with mainland authorities, the paper reports. "They include Taiwan's Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp., Chinese Maritime Transport, Uniglory Marine Corp. and Wan Hai lines." For those familiar with Taiwan, Uniglory Marine Corp. is a subsidiary of the Evergreen Group.