Chapter 18 Chapter 17 Hong Kong Accepts Patten

On July 10, 1992, Chris Patten crossed Victoria Harbor on the Madam Mulian and came to Hong Kong to take office. Just as Chris Patten disappeared from the British political screen, he reappeared on the international screen in Hong Kong.As the former chairman of the British Conservative Party, he knew the importance of making his debut in Hong Kong. After careful planning, he broke the old rules left by the colonial era and shocked many people unexpectedly. At 4:00 p.m., the concert hall of the Hong Kong City Hall was crowded with people, and the inauguration ceremony of the 28th Governor of Hong Kong began.Wearing a crisp suit and holding a Bible, Patten appears in the public eye.

After all, Hong Kong has a colonial history of 150 years, and the Hong Kong government has cultivated a group of officials who abide by the British tradition.With Patten's current attire, they were really surprised. He didn't wear the white governor's uniform, he didn't accept the knighthood of the Queen of England, and there was no red tape. During the welcome ceremony and inauguration ceremony, it was like going to a summer concert to enjoy music. Patten looked relaxed.His performance has become a hot spot for public opinion in Hong Kong and an important topic of discussion for ordinary people.

There are speculations from all sides, and there are mixed positive and negative opinions. The consensus is the following: One, he is different. Second, he has a strong background. Three, he has a strong self-confidence. British Prime Minister John Major once enthusiastically recommended him to Hong Kong government officials: Patten is the perfect candidate to ensure the freedom, stability and prosperity of Hong Kong during the transitional period... Major's words were somewhat exaggerated.In fact, Patten knew very little about the situation in Hong Kong, unlike the previous governors who were China hands, Hong Kong hands, or officials of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Although Chris Patten has the greatest background among the governors of Hong Kong, he is also the one who knows the least about Hong Kong.He is just a prominent politician and has no actual management experience. It is hard to say whether he will be in charge of Hong Kong and whether the British colonial rule of Hong Kong will be successfully completed in the next five years.

Patten is likely to be the kind of person who is hard to bear despite his great reputation.Hong Kong's "Ming Pao" published an article saying: In the last five years of the transition period, the Hong Kong government will be led by a person who is not familiar with China and Hong Kong affairs and has suffered a new fiasco in the British political arena. People are deeply disappointed by Prime Minister Major's attitude of disregarding Hong Kong's interests and British public opinion. Some Hong Kong people even said: the appointment of Chris Patten as the governor of Hong Kong was Major's consolation prize for his lost companions.Major's appointment of Patten was based on consideration of his personal political future, not Hong Kong's future.Patten knew his weaknesses.He knows how to learn from each other.The ingenious inauguration ceremony is one of the shortcoming measures.Then, on the second day after taking office, he was dressed in casual clothes and accompanied by government officials, inspected the bustling Mong Kok downtown area, shaking hands with shopping citizens.When he returned to the Hong Kong government, he broke the convention and held his first press conference after coming to Hong Kong on the lawn of the Governor's Mansion. The situation was very similar to how Clinton often met reporters on the lawn of the White House, which showed that he was indeed extraordinary. , coupled with his witty words, deep thoughts, and transparent manners, he immediately won applause from the people of Hong Kong.

On the third day of taking office, a group of demonstrators came outside the Governor's Mansion.This is a group of husbands of undocumented mothers, with their children and daughters, who came here to ask the government to reunite them with their undocumented mothers out of humanitarian considerations.Unexpectedly, they were stopped by the police because they did not apply in advance. During the dispute, the two sides clashed, causing traffic jams for a while.At this time, Patten suddenly walked out of the governor's mansion, came to the petitioners in a friendly manner, took the petition letter, and then chatted with them again.His actions caused hundreds of petitioners to turn hostility into friendship immediately, and the petitioners cheered and applauded.A conflict was thus resolved by Patten.

In just a few days, Patten gained a great reputation.The Chinese government also expects Patten, like former Hong Kong Governor David Wilson, to make Hong Kong stable, stable and healthy during the transitional period, just like the meaning implied in his name.However, it didn't take long for Patten to reveal another face. On May 24, 1992, Goodall, the newly appointed Under Secretary of Hong Kong Affairs of the British Foreign Office, came to Hong Kong.He was ordered by Major to attack China.Major believes that the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Hong Kong are too accommodating to China's pressure and too focused on safeguarding China's interests. The UK's reputation and matching interests should be rediscovered in the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.Gu Lide came to Hong Kong based on this instruction.

This somewhat contradicts Patten's friendly attitude toward the Chinese government after he came to Hong Kong.Patten originally did not want to spend much energy on the management and construction of Hong Kong, and he did not intend to establish any truly friendly and in-depth exchanges with China. His friendly attitude was limited and superficial. He came to Hong Kong It's because the drunken man doesn't care about wine, but cares about the mountains and rivers.Of course, this landscape is not the landscape of Hong Kong, but the landscape of the British political circle.As an ambitious statesman, he will never allow failure.As the saying goes, he was careless and lost Jingzhou. He should have led the British political circle at this time, but due to carelessness, the gutter capsized, and he left his hometown with hatred and surrendered to Hong Kong.His somersault fell in the UK, so he has to get up there, and his attention has always been on the UK mainland, not Hong Kong.

These performances in Hong Kong are entirely out of habit, just like a professional painter who is familiar with the human body, even if he takes a quick glance at the subject in front of him, he can draw almost exactly according to his own painting experience.He is also a master at using the news media. In his eyes, those reporters are the borrowed power that he used to spread beans into soldiers to control the wind and rain. He used political magic to drive them, enslave them, and coax them around.If you use this water, you will get twice the result with half the effort, and you will be able to do a little thing and make a lot of noise, and the world knows it.For these reasons, Patten wanted to relax in Hong Kong for three to five years, try not to cause trouble, and wait for Hong Kong's safe transition to 1997 when he returned to London after his meritorious deeds.Therefore, he tried his best to make a friendly gesture towards the Chinese government, and won the favor of Hong Kong citizens with a civilian image.

However, as soon as Gu Lide came and brought Major's instructions, he immediately changed his procedures and formulated a new strategy. Patten was reminded of Major's mandate on Hong Kong.Major advocated the use of an uncompromising fighting spirit to regain the lost face of the United Kingdom, negated the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law by nitpicking, and held up the banner of freedom and democracy to attract international public opinion, even if the Chinese government won Hong Kong, also made it notorious and so on.And all these routines belong to political concepts, are highly politicized things, and are destructive rather than constructive.If all the jobs in Hong Kong are of this nature, then Patten is the best candidate.Because he is only good at destroying, only good at destroying, only good at engaging in political campaigns, but not building, not working down to earth.He was a crusader, a statesman, not a foreign affairs expert.He is a partisan politician, not a government administrator.

American scholar William Overholt once said of him: He has the charm and personal appeal of a successful politician, and these qualities are new to Hong Kong, and initially gave people the impression of being very successful... … In London, Patten was known for being tough and insensitive, and has always been a bit of PM Major’s thug; he was also accused of defamation when he arrived in Hong Kong, and he had to go to court (the Conservatives paid damages so that he could Empty hands for his job? Patten, the architect of Major's 1992 comeback victory, has strong support from the Prime Minister, and he often tells Hong Kongers and Beijing that he is the Prime Minister's closest political and personal friend ...

Based on all these reasons, Patten chose the route specified by Major, because it was more suitable for his disposition and style.He no longer pretends to be civilians, and no longer pretends to be friendly with the Chinese government against his will.He can fuck naked. He wants to use Hong Kong as his political battlefield, and at the cost of ending Hong Kong, he will explain his personal energy to the British political circle and the people of his own country.He hopes to turn Hong Kong into a political arena. He is the unique protagonist in a duel with China. His solitary struggle will be rewarded with applause from the people of his own country. Vote for him in the general election just like welcoming a hero to defend the country. Welcoming him into No 10 Downing Street... so he decided to take another risk. After arriving in Hong Kong, Gu Lide said that in order to truly turn Hong Kong into a democratic and free city, the reform of Hong Kong's political system should be accelerated. Regarding the issue of increasing directly elected seats in the Hong Kong Legislative Council, it will be discussed at the Hong Kong Affairs Committee led by the British Prime Minister. The Basic Law can be modified. On April 4, 1990, the "Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China" was signed by Yang Shangkun, President of the People's Republic of China, and passed at the third session of the Seventh National People's Congress.The Basic Law includes Annex I: "Methods for the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region", Annex II: "Methods for the Selection and Voting Procedures of Legislative Orders of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region", Annex III: "National Laws Implemented in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region", and Hong Kong Designs of the regional flag and regional emblem of the Special Administrative Region.The Basic Law will come into effect on July 1, 1997. This was submitted to the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress for approval after several amendments and improvements by the Drafting Committee of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from July 1, 1985 to February 17, 1990. The basic law of Hong Kong should be amended by a sovereign country. How can the Hong Kong British government amend it?However, Patten insisted on going his own way. On October 7, 1992, he presented a well-planned Hong Kong political reform plan, "Hong Kong's Future: Five-Year Plan and New Initiatives". First, he raised the issue of the separation of the Legislative Council and the Executive Council. On July 18, 1984, the Hong Kong British government put forward such a motion, and they published the "Green Paper on the Representative Government System: Further Development of the Representative Government System in Hong Kong".The Green Paper announced that its main goal is to gradually establish a political system whose power is firmly rooted in Hong Kong, which has sufficient authority to represent the opinions of Hong Kong people, and is more directly accountable to Hong Kong people. The specific arrangements are as follows: 1. Gradually change the composition and selection method of the Legislative Council, replacing appointed non-official members with elected members, reducing official members, and transitioning from indirect elections to direct elections; 2. Gradually change the composition of the Executive Council. Most of the appointed non-official members will be replaced by candidates elected by the non-official members of the Legislative Council. Correspondingly, the number of members appointed by the Governor of Hong Kong will be reduced; 3. Give non-official members of the executive and legislative bureaus more powers and responsibilities to participate in government affairs, and actually hold ministerial positions in the government similar to those held by elected representatives in some countries, so as to prepare for the implementation of some form of ministerial production in the future; 4. Gradually change the powers and status of the Governor of Hong Kong. In the future, at an appropriate time, non-official members of the Legislative Council will elect one person from among themselves as the speaker, and the Governor of Hong Kong will no longer serve as the chairman of the Legislative Council. Elected by an electoral college composed of all non-official members of the Bureau after consultation. Why are the Hong Kong and British authorities so eager to promote institutional reform?The Hong Kong public opinion circles revealed their true intentions: If the representative government reform of the Hong Kong British authorities is implemented smoothly, it will definitely bring about a complete transformation of Hong Kong's political system. Before 1997, a Westminster based in Hong Kong, politically inclined to the United Kingdom, and capable of isolating the influence of central sovereignty will be established. The monastery-style regime makes China face a fait accompli when it resumes exercising its sovereignty; if it encounters resistance, this reform can become a hotbed for sowing discord and creating divisions, putting China in a dilemma of opposing democracy and opposing Hong Kong people. Ultimately, it could also weaken China's ability to resume its sovereignty over Hong Kong in the future. That is to say, before the British left, they wanted to make Hong Kong a city of its own accord.It only obeys the orders of the British, and only admires the British regime. As long as it is British democracy and freedom, it does not want anything else.The British government wants to turn Hong Kong into a weird city in a very short time, a city that has undergone brain-changing surgery. They left their values ​​and ideology as the best gift to this city and buried them in the city. In this way, even though the British have left the power center of Hong Kong, with these invisible genes, they can still control the city from across the ocean, just like a hound that has been domesticated for many years, it will obey with just a whistle Owner.This is the deepest calculation of the British.Now, Patten has quickly put into practice the plans of the British Hong Kong government in the past.In the "Policy Address", his separation plan is: separate the non-official members of the Executive Council and the Legislative Council, so that the identities of the members of the two councils do not overlap, so that the Legislative Council becomes an independent organization that checks and balances the government; the Executive Council Denormalization, not appointing people with normal backgrounds to the Executive Council, etc.He also made major changes to the 1991 election plan: changed the double-seat double-vote system to a single-seat single-vote system; changed the number of functional groups from the previous 21 to 30, and reorganized the voting units of the groups into individual voting, that is, one person, one vote , so that the number of voters in functional groups can be expanded to 2.7 million people in Hong Kong, and the age of voters is reduced from 21 to 18.He also adopted a disguised method of increasing directly elected members of the Legislative Council to pave the way for the so-called democrats: expand the powers of the district councils, abolish the appointed seats of the district councils and the two municipal councils, and make them all direct elections.The Election Committee of the Legislative Council was established in 1995, with directly elected district councilors serving as members. The Election Committee elected 10 Legislative Council members, so that the Legislative Council members elected by the Election Committee composed of district directly elected members actually became directly elected members in disguise.He also stipulated that district councilors (all directly elected? occupy 10 seats in the Legislative Council. As a result, 40 members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council will be directly elected or directly elected in a disguised form, accounting for two-thirds of the 60-member Legislative Council. These people can take a through train to enter the Legislative Council after 1997. Elected individuals who can be produced through these Peng expresses continue to speak for them in the Hong Kong government. The Chinese side has pointed out since the British side issued the Green Paper that this was done unilaterally by the British side, and China does not assume responsibility. Ji Pengfei, Director of the Basic Law Drafting Committee, also made it clear when he met with the Hong Kong Secretary for Administration Liao Benhuai and his party: 1. China does not want Hong Kong to undergo drastic changes during the transitional period; 2. The reform of Hong Kong’s political system during the transitional period should be considered to be in line with the Basic Law; 3. According to the Sino-British agreement, Hong Kong’s political system after 1997 is regulated by the Basic Law. Today, Patten once again provoked political reform incidents, which immediately aroused the anger of most Hong Kong people and strong protests from the Chinese government.Hong Kong's "Daily Daily" published an article criticizing: The British ruled Hong Kong for more than 150 years, and never gave Hong Kong people democracy. What is the internal connection, I believe only the British can know the details... Yang Xiaohua, general manager of tourism and Hong Kong affairs of Thai Airways, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, said: After Patten proposed his political reform plan, I expressed my opinions to him in person as a member of the Legislative Council.Afterwards, I conducted another public opinion survey in Hong Kong's tourism industry. The results showed that most Hong Kong people did not agree with Patten's concept of nine new functional groups and the composition of the Election Committee. In December 1992, at a breakfast meeting with members of the Legislative Council, I presented the results of this investigation to Peng.He should know from this that Hong Kong people don't appreciate his style. However, Patten did not listen to the voices of people from all walks of life in Hong Kong.He still goes his own way. In October 1992, Patten came to Beijing again to negotiate with the Chinese government on the construction of a new airport in Hong Kong. Due to Hong Kong's special location, it has developed into an international and regional aviation center.However, the capacity of Kai Tak Airport, which has been in use for a long time, is approaching its limit. If it is not resolved, it will seriously affect the long-term economic development of Hong Kong. In October 1989, the British Hong Kong government decided to build a new international airport at Chek Lap Kok in the north of Lantau Island. It's just that the budget of this airport is really surprising: the total investment cost is as high as 100 billion Hong Kong dollars (the initial estimate is 16 billion U.S. dollars, and it is estimated to be 23 billion U.S. dollars later). It was the largest and most expensive civil engineering project in the world in the 1990s.The plan involved building the longest bridge in the world connecting Hong Kong to an island, leveling and enlarging the island with material obtained from a huge dredging project, commonly known as reclamation, followed by the construction of a massive foundation facilities, so that people can travel to this port plus airport within the appropriate time. Because the new airport project is huge and requires a lot of foreign investment, the relevant franchise rights, contracts and debt guarantees may span 1997. Therefore, many foreign and local consortiums and related companies have taken a cautious attitude and waited for the Chinese government to approve this project. Engineering shows attitude. China is concerned about the new airport plan of the British Hong Kong government.The return of Hong Kong is imminent, and the external window formed by this new airport will be reserved for the Chinese to enjoy.If the British considered it from a fair standpoint, the Chinese government would laugh at it, but in fact it is not.The fact is that the British spend a lot of money to save face for them, while Hong Kong in the future will be heavily in debt. The actual situation is just like what we usually say I treat you to spend money.Also, it violates the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The "Joint Statement" clearly stipulates that any decision whose outcome extends beyond 1997 will require consultation with China.Although the new program opened in 1997, loan repayments stretched over many years thereafter.Based on the above considerations, the Chinese government expressed dissatisfaction with the unilateral new airport plan of the British Hong Kong authorities, and requested to participate in the consultation on the new airport plan, including its modification and improvement. The Chinese government suggested that the airport be opened in Shenzhen, which is adjacent to Hong Kong, which can save a lot of money and ease the contradictions in shipping. The British objected.To say that China would control space ownership would undermine Hong Kong's autonomy.The Chinese government also earnestly suggested that the ownership of land, entry and space should be transferred to Hong Kong, just like the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, so that it can have ownership for 50 years.But the British are still insincere. There seems to be a problem with this, not just an economic debt issue, but also a contempt for China's sovereignty. China reacted strongly to this. The people of Hong Kong became uneasy, and the stock market began a long-term decline.And this downward curve started when the Hong Kong British authorities announced the new airport plan, and ended when the British finally agreed to conduct detailed negotiations with China. From June 27 to July 1, 1991, the British Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Sir Colliday visited China as the Prime Minister's special envoy. memorandum". So far, China has decided to support the construction of the airport.In exchange for Beijing's role in the negotiations, Britain agreed to certain limits on borrowing in the post-1997 period.Although this limit is low, it seems symbolic. However, this "Memorandum of Understanding" forced the British coach Mei Jie to play.Because he had to sign an official document.At that time, Western countries in the world were boycotting China because of the Tiananmen Square incident.And Major became the first Western prime minister to visit China, thus breaking the ice of hostility to China. However, Patten, who is new to Hong Kong, once again used the new airport plan to add trouble to China. In 1992, the British Hong Kong government successively formulated financial arrangements for the new airport.The project budget is like a flood pouring into a river, and it suddenly rises a lot.The original project total cost estimate increased from 98.6 billion Hong Kong dollars in July 1991 to 112.2 billion Hong Kong dollars, an increase of 13.8? .Among them, the airport railway project budget increased from 12.5 billion Hong Kong dollars to 23.1 billion Hong Kong dollars, an increase of 85%.A considerable part of these debts will be repaid by the SAR government after 1997, which will undoubtedly be a heavy burden on the future Hong Kong government and Hong Kong residents.As a sinister gift, it may also pass on the political crisis and mistrust to the Chinese government, leading Hong Kong citizens to draw a conclusion: these unfortunate events are the result of the handover to China after 1997! In late November 1992, the British Hong Kong government took a unilateral action to apply to the Legislative Council for appropriation of the airport platform contract without the consent of the Chinese side. The tough Patten publicly stated that if China and the UK fail to reach an agreement on the financial arrangements for the construction of the airport, then the UK will be solely responsible for the construction of the airport! In order to prove that what he said meant what he said, Patten, who was originally a literati and a politician who only talked about empty words, teamed up with Major to prepare an exercise called Operation Pterosaur in Hong Kong to practice Hong Kong's defense against China's invasion.Patten said the exercise was to show invading troops that Hong Kong remained under British sovereignty. This can also be seen as another expression of Patten's vow to fight the Chinese government to the end. But, it's sure to be a laugh-out-loud exercise.Because Hong Kong does not need the Chinese army to attack, just turn off the tap, and Hong Kong will change, and it will be as panic-stricken as ants on a hot pot.China will win without a fight, and Hong Kong will be destroyed without a fight. Such a military exercise can only be imagined by a whimsical person like Patten! Patten felt that the initiative of the new airport issue was in his own hands.Because even leaving financial issues aside, in this project, the British consortium won more than 70 new airport construction contracts. The British design document stipulates that the required components must be purchased from the UK.Some people say that this is proof that the British colonists did not forget to squeeze the last juice out of Hong Kong when they bid farewell to Hong Kong.Patten believes that with this alone, he can keep his capital.Even without the cooperation of the Chinese, the British can complete the new airport project, but the repair is not as big as before, and it is not as good as previously planned.Patten planned to use Hong Kong's reserves to reduce the size of the original infrastructure and complete it before July 1, 1997, while greatly reducing the airport core project, presenting a pocket airport as a gift to Hong Kong. In this way, the British reaped benefits and reputation, killing two birds with one stone. In this way, Patten came to Beijing in October, and prepared for a showdown with the Chinese government without any sincerity in the negotiations. Beijing in October is angry! Chinese Premier Li Peng refused to meet with the Hong Kong governor, who is visiting for the first time. Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen refused to shake his hand at the press conference. In response to Patten's so-called political reform plan, the Chinese foreign minister stated the Chinese government's solemn position: The political reform plan clearly violates the relevant provisions and spirit of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, violates the British commitment to align the development of Hong Kong's political system with the Basic Law, and violates the relevant understandings reached by China and the UK. In response to the insistence of the Chinese and Hong Kong British governments on the Hong Kong new airport project, the Chinese side stated that all relevant contracts and investments that have not been negotiated with the Chinese side are considered by the Chinese government to be in violation of the Basic Law. After 1997, China will not recognize it!Patten's backyard was also on fire. Experts on China, former ambassadors to China Colliday, Evans, former British Prime Minister Heath, former Labor Prime Minister Callaghan, former Foreign Secretary Jeffrey Howe, etc. have criticized Patten's practice of using Hong Kong as a political battlefield on different occasions. He also criticized Patten, who believed that Patten was deceiving the world and pursuing a policy of irresponsible self-destruction.Colliday reprimanded Patten and said: If you bear the consequences of heroic behavior yourself, then your heroic behavior is understandable, but if you are harming the interests of others, especially those you trust—like us It is another matter to take heroic actions against the same interests as Hong Kong. The British "Sun" published a comment on the title "There is no cynical and brazen liar than Patten": Patten hypocritically advocated democracy in Hong Kong and undermined Sino-British relations. Difficulties arose when contracting.Patten sacrificed Hong Kong for his own personal ambitions, and the price was too high.People from all walks of life in Hong Kong also expressed anger and protest against Patten's actions: On October 28, 1992, the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, which has 180,000 members, issued a four-point statement, saying: Patten's political reform plan violated the Sino-British The joint statement violates the relevant provisions and spirit of the Basic Law; Patten's political reform plan overthrows the current effective political system in Hong Kong, and the result will inevitably interfere with the entire operation of society, hinder Hong Kong's economic development, and damage Hong Kong Prosperity and tranquility lead to social unrest and undermine international confidence in Hong Kong... Surveys show that when Patten first proposed political reform, Hong Kong people did not understand what kind of medicine was sold in his gourd. At that time, people's support for him once reached 41%. After Patten hit a wall in Beijing, nearly half of Hong Kong people believed that they should continue to negotiate with China, nearly 30% agreed with the referendum decision, and only about 10% advocated ignoring China's objections. The poll on November 11, 1992 showed that 63% of the people were most worried about affecting economic stability, and about 61% of the people did not want Hong Kong people to be divided because of this. The survey on November 23 showed that: 41 people believed that Patten should abandon the political reform plan, and the number of people who expressed support dropped to 34. The survey conducted on January 5, 1993 showed that the respondents supported China's attitude towards Hong Kong affairs, and people outside the 87th group strongly supported the retention of Hong Kong's current election methods, political system and management status. Patten suffered a disastrous defeat. Hong Kong is destined to become Waterloo in his political life, and he will return to the UK in despair.It is believed that this defeat was worse than the general election defeat in his native England. As this article was about to go to press, relevant negotiations between the Chinese government and the British Hong Kong government were still going on. However, no matter what, the firecrackers for the Spring Festival in 1997 were about to be ignited. After all, 1997 came inexorably. 1997 was an important year in the development of Chinese history. In 1997, it was a grand festival for the Chinese people and overseas Chinese!