New snub for Patten in 'war' with China

New snub for Patten in 'war' with China

By Peter Lim

HONG KONG (AFP): Hong Kong governor Chris Patten put on a brave face yesterday over the latest Chinese snub in a campaign to freeze him out of deciding the territory's future.

A decision on Thursday not to invite him to the launch of the Bank of China's first bank notes for Hong Kong next week, was the latest rebuke for Patten.

That came barely a day after Lu Ping, China's main official for Hong Kong affairs, rejected a request for a meeting with the governor during a one week visit due to start Sunday. Lu's visit is his first to the territory since Patten became governor.

Patten will not even attend a luncheon for Lu hosted by five leading business groups -- including the Hong Kong and American chambers of commerce -- at which the Chinese official is expected to make a major speech.

The governor said he did not feel "neglected" at not getting a Bank of China invitation.

But he told reporters, after attending a pilots' conference, that he was "sorry" Lu would not see him. He added that he was prepared to change his schedule "at any time if that is convenient to Lu."

As relations between the governor and Beijing reach an all- time low, many local observers feel China is getting the upper hand in the war of nerves over Hong Kong's future.

One Chinese official, who requested anonymity, commented that because Patten is insisting on going his own way over Hong Kong, "China is simply doing what it considers necessary steps" before the 1997 handover.

"Patten does not really care about Hong Kong," he said, citing comments in Hong Kong's independent Ming Pao newspaper that Patten looked unhappy in his job. The paper said the governor used every opportunity to go to London.

Patten will probably go London to visit an opera house next month -- his ninth trip home since he became governor in June 1992, a government spokesman confirmed.

But analysts also say China is stepping up pressure on Patten in order to show the people of Hong Kong that there is no future in towing the British line up to 1997.

During his visit, Lu is to meet two sub-groups of the Preliminary Working Committee, a Beijing-appointed body paving the way for the colony's transfer to Chinese rule.

China has been enraged by Patten's ban on civil servants meeting the committee.

"It is quite obvious that Chinese authorities are showing they are not happy with the state of affairs," said Joseph Cheng, political commentator at the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong.

"It is part of the strategy to make sure the people of Hong Kong know that the territory will definitely be under Chinese sovereignty after 1997," Cheng said.

Before visiting the British colony for the first time in two years, Lu will accompany Beijing advisers from the territory to a military camp in Guangzhou, southern China, where armed forces to be deployed in Hong Kong after 1997 are undergoing training.

David McMillen, director of independently run Hong Kong Transition Project, said "it is more psychological warfare to show the people of Hong Kong that the other Hong Kong has begun to emerge."

He said it was alright for China not to have anything to do with Patten, but added that "the problem of transition should not be isolated."

At least China has shown good "technical and practical cooperation" in recent months, he said. McMillen emphasized China's agreement on the need to tackle the property crisis, and reported agreement on the future use of British military sites.

Hong Kong's chief secretary Anson Chan, who is currently in Washington lobbying for US renewal of China's most-favored-nation status, expressed disappointment that Lu would not meet Patten.

"We have a whole range of transitional matters to discuss," said Chan who added: "We would be happy at anytime to meet with him to discuss these issues."

The isolation China is imposing on Patten has prompted a Beijing-funded newspaper, Hong Kong Commercial Daily, to comment: "Of all the governors of Hong Kong, Chris Patten is the most lonely of them."

The commentary added that the governor was being snubbed socially and was reduced to attending opening ceremonies normally handled by less senior officials.