THE HANDOVER NEARS
‘It’s for our own good’
By David McIntyre, special to the Star-Bulletin
Daniel Leung, right, of Honolulu is in Hong Kong with son
Jesse, center, 8, for the historic turnover. Daniel's
father, Hoi Wai Leung, left, lives in Hong Kong.
"I hope things won't change," he says.
Most people in Hong Kong
By Susan Kreifels
favor the return to China, polls show
Star-BulletinHONG KONG -- Ask 76-year-old Hoi Wai Leung what he thinks about the coming of a new age to this prosperous city, and he shrugs his shoulders. A British subject his entire life, a Chinese by culture and blood, the civil engineer is not attached to either London or Beijing.
From his Kowloon office, he's watched his view of Hong Kong harbor gradually disappear to skyscrapers built under Her Majesty's watch but paid for with profits fueled by China.
"No matter what emperor, the taxes are the same," he said, quoting a Chinese proverb and smiling.
"I'm Chinese. My whole life, my way of living is Chinese. But of course, I hope things won't change," he said, crossing his fingers on both hands.
Leung reflects feelings of many here: ambivalence toward the British departure and Chinese arrival but resignation to the change; pride in Hong Kong's economic miracle and desire for it to continue; growing identity as Hong Kong-Chinese people; and wariness over what's to come past midnight July 1.
They question whether China will allow Hong Kong to rule itself for 50 years as promised, whether the corruption and crime in China will spread to a city that prides itself on order and efficiency, whether they will retain the personal freedoms they now enjoy and whether Hong Kong will ever witness anything close to the bloodshed of Tiananmen Square.
But continued economic growth has buoyed optimism, perhaps more among Hong Kong's 6.3 million people than in the West. Recent polls show 62 percent here favor the return to China.
A number of Hong Kong residents as well as academics have been frustrated by the gloom-and-doom scenarios in some Western media. Many of the 6,000 foreign journalists here, critics say, are hoping for Chinese tanks and blood in the streets.
Associated PressSchoolgirls in Tiananmen Square don seals of Hong Kong,
which will be used after its return to China.
(China yesterday announced it will send armored cars into Hong Kong in a 4,000-troop deployment six hours after recovering sovereignty.)"This demonizing of China that is reminiscent of the Vietnam War is totally counterproductive," said Roger Ames, director of the University of Hawaii Center for Chinese Studies, in Hong Kong for the turnover.
While Ames said there is cause for concern about China's reaction to any dissent in Hong Kong, "isolating China forces it to act on its own. The United States should be helping China meet this Hong Kong situation.
"China has a perspective, not (just) the evil dictator being generated by the press," Ames said.
China sees Hong Kong as land that was stolen in 1841 after the first Opium War, in which the emperor failed to stop the British from selling opium there. Ames said the British humiliated the Chinese and made them opium addicts.
Daniel Leung, a Hong Kong-born Hawaii resident and son of Hoi Wai Leung, is here with his 8-year-old son Jesse for the historic event. The programs administrator for Hawaii's Child and Family Service said he formed no attachment for the colonial government while growing up here.
"I'm a product of the British education system," he said. "It didn't foster a feeling of belonging or identity, neither British or Chinese."
He said students weren't taught about the Opium War, and he believes one of the most positive outcomes of the return to China is "regaining our own identity. People are proud of Hong Kong's achievements."
Keeping those achievements intact is the main concern of most people here. Congress has threatened to end China's most-favored-nation trade status with the United States if it misbehaves in Hong Kong. At the same time, the U.S. hammer worries the Hong Kong business community.
Dennis Yau, deputy executive director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, said not renewing the trade status for China will hurt Hong Kong, whose economic boom has been fed by trade in and out of China.
"Trade is the lifeblood of Hong Kong," Yau said. "To meet the challenge of becoming a separate administrative region of China, we want to be able to manage the new relationship on the basis of a strong economy."
By David McIntyre, special to the Star-Bulletin
"Overall we're becoming more Chinese," says Professor
Reuben Mondejar, of the City University of Hong Kong.
While business is thriving, how much iron Beijing will pack in its handshake still underlies the optimism. Discomfort of the unknown and fear of retaliation for offending the new government has already provoked self-censorship.Beijing has defined the taboo subjects: advocating independence for Taiwan and Tibet, which it considers part of China, and criticizing Chinese leaders. Self-censorship has marked the Hong Kong press.
"Overall we're becoming more Chinese," said Reuben Mondejar, associate professor in the Department of Management at the City University of Hong Kong. "It's for our own good that we cast our lot with the mainland. The more integrated we are, the better our future."
With university leadership already "shining the boots of Chinese leadership ... there's no need for the Chinese to put watchdogs inside," he said.
Mondejar, a Chinese Filipino with permanent residence, said there is no pressure yet on staffs to curb what they say in the classroom. "Having said that, to what extent can democracy go without provoking violence? We can go as far as we don't stretch the breaking point."
There are "bad signs" for the future of Hong Kong's Basic Law, which China agreed to with the British government, said Alison Conner, a Hong Kong law expert teaching here for the summer, who heads the Pacific-Asian Legal Studies program at the University of Hawaii law school.
China, saying it objected to the election rules under the British governor, will dissolve the elected legislature after it takes control and replace it with a "provisional" legislature until 1998 elections.
Beijing also struck down some provisions of the Bill of Rights, including tightening the right to protest. "There's no legal basis for the decision," Conner said. "It's purely political."
It’s time to shop, party, protest
By Susan Kreifels
—or get out of town
Star-BulletinHONG KONG -- Spend $1,997 at your local department store and get a chance at the Commemorative Lucky Draw. Get your Hong Kong 1997 "Chinese Empire Strikes Back" T-shirt while there's still a supply on the shelf.
Or line up at the fortuneteller to hear how prosperous this year will really be.
The pervasive make-a-buck mentality is capitalizing on the July 1 return of this city to China. Excitement is building as an estimated 1.2 million visitors go elbow to elbow with locals. Streets, restaurants and bars are far more crowded than usual, people here say, as the city gears up for a five-day weekend that extends through Wednesday to mark the historic event.
"It's almost surreal," said Daniel Leung, programs administrator at Hawaii's Child and Family Service. Hong Kong-born Leung returned with his son Jesse, 8, to witness history: Hong Kong's return to China after 156 years under the British Empire.
Chinese flags drape buildings, banners claiming a prosperous future line the streets, and shoppers crowd stores like the Shanghai Tang boutique, where the "Made in China" label is a hot seller. Newspapers are filled with "what's hot and what's not" happenings this weekend.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong had a sold-out crowd of 600 at a Wan Chai disco last night, where the city's young moving-and-shaking expatriate professionals kicked off a weekend of parties.
June 30 ceremonies begin with the final departure of the British governor from Government House at 4:20 p.m. and end with the official turnover ceremony at the heavily guarded Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center at 11:30 p.m.
While officials attend cocktail parties and banquets, people on the streets can watch what is being billed as a spectacular 25-minute firework display over Victoria Harbor starting at 8:15 p.m.
Many of the 6,000 foreign journalists who have invaded this tiny city will be following Democratic Party chief Martin Lee, who plans to climb the balcony of the legislature with 25 other democratic lawmakers after the turnover ceremony. They are protesting the tightening of civil liberties and Beijing's dissolution of the elected legislature in favor of a temporary, handpicked body that will be in place until 1998 elections.
Some residents say they'll avoid that part of town in fear of any clashes between police and protesters. Hong Kong police are responsible for watching the streets, while the People's Liberation Army hovers nearby in case needed.
"They're testing the law," said 76-year-old Hoi Wai Leung, a civil engineer who plans to watch the ceremonies on television in his Kowloon home. "There's heavy security. It's a little scary."
Allen Cheung, a 1996 graduate of Hawaii Pacific University who works at AT&T here, is taking advantage of the five-day holiday and getting out of the crowded, steamy city for a short vacation with friends. Cheung say he's known for 13 years that Hong Kong would go back to China on this day. For him, it's a nonevent. "I don't have any feelings. I think life will be the same."
A commemoration party, which will feature a taped satellite broadcast of the hand-over ceremony in Hong Kong, will be held at Rumours in the Ala Moana Hotel Monday. Rumours party will show
By Star-Bulletin staff
hand-over broadcastThe event is sponsored by the Hong Kong Business Association of Hawaii. Gov. Ben Cayetano and several state legislators are expected to attend.
Honolulu is one of four U.S. cities, along with Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas, to show the satellite broadcast from Hong Kong television stations.
"We are not celebrating, nor are we against (the hand-over)," said Anita Li from the Hong Kong Business Association of Hawaii. "We are just wishing Hong Kong the best and hope they have a bright trade future."
The sold-out event begins at 5 p.m.
HONG KONG -- Years before he whipped Singapore into economic shape, Lee Kuan Yew visited Hong Kong. He promptly went to a tailor and ordered a suit. The custom suit shows
Associated Press
the fabric of the city"He was measured in the morning, his fitting was in the afternoon, and the suit was delivered to his (ship) cabin that evening," a host recounted recently, introducing the impeccably attired former Singapore prime minister.
A 12-hour suit, and a good one at that. It made a deep impression on Lee about the fabric of Hong Kong -- made of people who get things done and do them well.
That was 1954. Today, as it returns to China, Hong Kong's electronics are overpriced and a beer can exceed $8. But the good, cheap, custom suit endures.
"Tailored in a day? Absolutely. That's Hong Kong's specialty," says Rick Chotrani, a salesman who has a suit for everyone -- at an average price of $250.
The events
All Monday, Hawaii time
5:30 a.m.: Official handover ceremony
Hong Kong
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