News Articles

 
../images/line4.gif
-JANUARY, 1999-
../images/line4.gif

Click on the calendar date in the chart below to see articles posted for that day.

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31

Click on the article title below to view the article.  Follow the 'Back to Top' links to return here.  Follow the 'Back to Article Index' links to return to the group of articles corresponding to that article's post- date.

01/30/1999 Learning to produce a quality workforce
01/29/1999 Vision needed to engineer clean-up
01/28/1999 No short-term fixes on the job front
01/27/1999 Conflicting signposts on SAR's political path
01/26/1999

When the rule of law is paramount

01/25/1999

Challenge of defining our tomorrow

01/25/1999 Eyewitness: An Experiment in Voting, If Not Democracy
01/22/1999 TUNG TRIES HARDER
Better p.r. is fine, but performance is the bottom line
01/18/1999 The Dalai Lama on his frustrations with Beijing: "I'm Ready to Talk Any Time"
01/15/1999 DENG'S WINNERS AND LOSERS
How the economic reforms changed the lives of four ordinary folk
01/11/1999 Cracking the Whip
 Rattled by labor unrest and economic woes, Beijing clamps down on dissidents--just when they were speaking up
01/11/1999 A Hong Kong protester decries Xu Wenli's 13-year jail term. ROBYN BECK--AFP
01/09/1999 Tung backs tycoon's political fears
01/09/1999 'Open door' for contacts on visit
01/09/1999 Rocket know-how theft denied
01/08/1999 CHINA GETS TOUGH
Expecting hard times ahead, the party steps up its crackdown against dissent
01/08/1999 AGREEING TO DISAGREE
Asia can benefit from learning that mode of diplomacy
01/08/1999 IN CHARACTER
Chinese-language papers are gaining fresh clout in post-handover Hong Kong
01/08/1999 TWO EMPERORS OF CHINA
New biographies analyze Mao's successors
01/08/1999 SPARKS IN HONG KONG
01/04/1999 FREE FOR ALL
Tough talk from tycoon Li Ka-shing sparks a furious debate over the future
01/04/1999 Chinese-language papers are gaining fresh clout in post-handover Hong Kong
01/01/1999 No deviation from path of reform, says Jiang

../images/line3.gif

Learning to produce a quality workforce

Published on Saturday January 30 1999

SHIRLEY KWOK

It's the year 2010. All primary pupils attend school for the whole day and their air-conditioned classrooms have only 20 students each.

The students don't carry heavy school bags because CD-ROMs have replaced most of their texts. They merely bring discs to computerised schools.

And they all speak fluently with their teachers in both English and Putonghua.

That is the dream of many teachers and parents, and also of businessmen who worry whether the education system will produce high-quality graduates - their potential employees.

But it's only a dream; no one really knows what the education picture will be a decade from now.

But nearly everyone agrees the system must be improved. Its future condition will play a big part in determining whether Hong Kong remains a competitive Asian financial hub in the 21st century. And many concerned citizens fear the SAR is losing an educational edge over other regional cities, especially Singapore, as the new millennium draws near.

They cite a reduced proficiency in English, students' lack of critical thinking, and inadequate school facilities as threats to long-term prospects. That is why many experts - including Education Director Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun - believe it is time the Government found better ways of tackling these problems.

One central problem is language proficiency. Hong Kong could lose its international city status if its people cannot speak fluent English, a global language for business, science and travel.

Last year, the Government jolted critics by ramming mother-tongue education down the schools' throats, decreeing that some 300 of them had to stop teaching in English and turn instead to Cantonese, their mother tongue. This made English a second language which students can pick up when they do not have other studies.

Efforts to keep education standards high also have been hindered by the regional financial crisis. It pushed the Government into belt-tightening mode; even for education it talks about getting more value for money.

This downward drift worries banker and Executive Councillor Antony Leung Kam-chung, appointed last April by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa as chairman of the influential Education Commission.

He says that local students must learn to face "new challenges in the knowledge-based global economy of the 21st century.

"We need graduates who are broad-based, creative and global in their outlook to sustain our competitive power in the new millennium," said Mr Leung.

Hong Kong has an obvious geographical advantage as it ponders the future. It is on the doorstep of mainland China - a country with more than 1.2 billion people and countless business opportunities. But some people argue that its close relationship to China and the return to Chinese sovereignty also raises educational problems.

English is the international business language. But after the 1997 handover, the SAR Government immediately rushed through its policy of having most schools use Chinese as their medium of instruction. The Government said this was in the students' own interest because studies showed most could learn better in their mother tongue.

Schools had been free to choose the language of instruction, but now all secondary schools must use the mother tongue unless granted special exemption. Thus from last September only 114 secondary schools can teach Form One in English. The other 300, like it or not, must use Chinese.

The policy has drawn criticism; some schools even posted banners and placed newspaper advertisements demanding their right to stay with English. Some parents and students wept before television cameras when their schools lost their appeals.

Some of the affected students cannot speak, read or write English well, but fought to stay with that language for fear they would be treated as "second-class students" if placed in Chinese-medium schools.

Although Government officials insist mother-tongue teaching is best for the students and promise to channel extra resources so Chinese-medium schools can teach English as a foreign language, fears are rife that students' competence in the language will drop further over time.

Beyond that, many young people have lost interest in learning another language.

"When I was a kid, we used to go to English-language movies and learn the words to Western pop songs," recalls Cheung Man-yee, director of broadcasting for Radio Television Hong Kong, who is especially worried about the slipping standards of English usage.

Now she finds that young people avoid English-language films and songs because they are too difficult. "It's really sad," she says.

If English usage continues to fade, that could help Singapore overtake Hong Kong. That city-state already has advanced telecommunications and sound financial systems and, most importantly, a well-educated and English-speaking population. Even though 77 per cent of its people are Chinese, its Government insists that English be maintained as an active official language.

Though some joke about the Singaporean accent, this is a minor problem compared to the fact that many Hong Kong students, who officially have been educated in English, can barely use it in complete sentences.

Singapore is also far ahead of Hong Kong in introducing information technology into schools; it boasts of becoming a "wired city" before long. Perhaps partly because of this, the Education and Manpower Bureau late last year completed its own blueprint for applying information technology (IT) over the next five years. It earmarked $3.2 billion for equipment and $556 million for annual operating costs for computers and related equipment in schools.

But a sweeping plan which would have let each teacher and student take home a Government-paid computer was dropped, raising doubts about just how thoroughly IT really will be used in the school system.

However, local teachers can expect more professional training to improve their qualifications. Mrs Law, the Director of Education, highlighted this at an international conference in San Antonio, Texas, a few weeks ago. "Upgrading the quality of the teaching profession is the single most important task in the pursuit of excellence in education," she said.

But a 1997 survey found only five per cent of graduate teachers had received professional training. A great deal must be done before the goal of having an "all graduates, all trained" profession is met.

To preserve its regional status, Hong Kong presumably must invest more on human resources. But the Government compares this to sharing a cake; when someone gets a big slice, another gets less.

Thus university heads have been told to find ways of streamlining their institutions so that Government can divert money to primary and secondary schools. Specifically, the Government plans to cut spending on each tertiary student by about three per cent annually between 1998 and 2001. This will equal a 10 per cent per student reduction since 1997.

Needless to say, the vice-chancellors of the eight government-funded tertiary institutes are not happy about the plan. Instead, they want even more resources, especially for their "areas of excellence".

Mr Tung endorsed such specialisation in his Policy Address last year. He said he wanted to build on current university strengths to bring their strongest sectors up to leading international standards. For example, he hopes Hong Kong will become a regional centre in developing Chinese medicine; Chinese University this week announced it was planning to participate.

But overall spending was scaled back due to budget limits. A maximum of five special sectors will be funded this academic year even though the eight institutes volunteered 41 candidates for the programme.

Lingnan College president Edward Chen Kwan-yiu complained that Hong Kong's total annual research spending was less than that spent by either Harvard University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Cheng Yiu-chung, vice-chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, says the SAR also lags in other ways; only about 20 per cent of local secondary school graduates enter higher education while the US rate is over 50 per cent.

This percentage should be increased because "human resources will be the key factor in deciding if one can win in the next century," Professor Cheng says.

There is little opposition to spending more on basic education, an area that has been short-changed in recent years. But there is opposition to funding it by cutting back on upper-level schooling. Many critics believe Hong Kong can and should afford both.

Dr Amy Tsui Bik-may, director of the Teachers of English Language and Education Centre at Hong Kong University, says: "The Government has spent billions of dollars to rescue the stock market. Why can't it invest more in education?"

She calls teacher training of the highest importance as it will determine what teachers will be available and how students will be taught. Education is already expensive - it accounts for about 18 per cent of total public expenditure, or $53 billion in 1998-99 fiscal year. But educators say Hong Kong can afford even more, especially as its total fiscal reserves exceed $690 billion, fourth-highest in the world.

However, educators agree that it is important to ensure that new investments pay off and do not waste taxpayers' money.

Au Pak-kuen, a veteran education worker and vice-president of the Professional Teachers Union, says the system needs better indicators to measure performance.

Higher education has expanded rapidly, he says, adding that "we have also seen the setting up of a $5 billion Quality Education Fund for awards to individual schools with outstanding projects . . . And we are going to have special cash awards for outstanding teachers.

"All this extra funding is encouraging. However it's also time we started to think about how we can measure the output, whether all the investments pay."

Some academics disagree, calling education a difficult-to-measure long-term process. For example, should one count how many distinctions a student obtains in public examinations and use that to rate the quality of his teachers or school? Among other things, that would exclude consideration of extracurricular activities, civic education and voluntary work.

Establishing any new rating system will require co-operation from the Examinations Authority, which reviews the two main school exams: the Hong Kong Advanced-level Examination for Form Seven students and the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination for Form Five pupils. The former exam is taken by more than 30,000 candidates each year, while the latter attracts more than 120,000.

Some experts criticise this exam-oriented approach, saying students spend too much time preparing for them because the outcome is crucial to winning university places.

One result, they contend, is that schools rely too heavily on learning by rote rather than on the more creative thinking required in modern societies. At worst, this can produce mediocrity.

Hong Kong University's pro-vice-chancellor Cheng Kai-ming says many parents believe only in rote learning.

"When a pupil returns home at the end of a school day, the questions his parents ask are not whether he is happy at school but how many essays he is asked to memorise and how many words to write," he says. "They will be unhappy if their child tells them none. They will blame the teachers and even start looking for another school."

Consultants have suggested that a school-based assessment be introduced to reduce exams pressure. Such an assessment might also reflect student abilities more broadly, and even encourage non-academic activities.

As Mr Tung said in a recent Education Commission forum: "To help Hong Kong move forward and to enhance our competitiveness, we must place education on the top of our agenda . . . reviewing our academic system and aims of education mean the utmost to all of us."

From South China Morning Post

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


Vision needed to engineer clean-up

Dim prospect: ten days ago, Victoria Harbour was blanketed with a smog in the "pea-souper" range. Was this just a foretaste of our dim future?

January 29  1999

ANNE STEWART

Gesturing at the yellow smog shrouding the skyline, Kim Salkeld, Deputy Secretary of the Planning, Environment and Lands Bureau, suggests a partial solution.

Find out whether visibility would improve if one element in that soup was removed, even though other gases and chemicals - which float in from Shenzhen's factories and react with diesel fumes - were left hanging in the air.

The idea seems to illustrate the Government's approach to environmental problems: summed up as "end-of-pipe solutions" by one academic - dealing with the effects, rather than the causes, of pollution.

The environment and quality of life obviously are linked to those of southern China; that area's business boom, population increase and urbanisation affect the whole region. And as more mainlanders become owners of vehicles, which meet only 20-year-old emissions standards, the Hong Kong scenario looks likely to worsen.

Mr Salkeld readily admits the quality of life will not improve significantly without massive structural, institutional and economic changes. The emphasis must move from pollution control to environmental quality.

But apart from creating a new bureau to oversee environmental matters, and dismantling urban and regional councils in the hope of streamlining waste management and small-scale reforms, questions remain about exactly what will be done. It is not clear if the Government has an overall vision about the environmental future, or when the community might see results.

Last year, toxic red-tide algae regularly closed beaches, pesticide-laced food contributed to health scares, and the dismal state of recycling and waste management was highlighted when a major paper recycler closed. People became aware of just what kind of air they breathe in direct relationship to a rising pollution index.

After roadside monitors were installed in June, readings above 100 micrograms of suspended respirable particles per cubic metre of air became a frequent occurrence; the elderly and ill are warned to stay off the streets once the figures reach 100.

The Environmental Protection Department conceded in September that the high readings were caused by ozone drifting in from Shenzhen and reacting with diesel exhaust fumes. This relatively new phenomenon is merely in its initial stages, according to academic experts.

The public health costs of air and water pollution are well known. It is estimated that 2,000 residents per year die from the effects of air pollution, while about 1,000 swimmers annually are hit with gastric illnesses picked up at beaches. An estimated 20 per cent of all swimmers have skin complaints after bathing at local beaches, according to studies.

In addition, there is growing concern that tourism and business will suffer because much of the environment is becoming "unliveable", says Dr William Barron, head of the Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental Management at the University of Hong Kong.

Ultimately, the impact of the mainland's environmental decisions will extend far beyond Hong Kong and is therefore being studied carefully by Greenpeace, the environmental lobbying group. Its director, Thilo Bode, warns that if China someday consumes resources at the American rate, the whole world will suffer. It now consumes energy at about one-quarter the US rate.

In light of this, official insistence that the SAR's problems are largely of its own making and can be solved locally seems naive at best - and is at odds with opinions of most business leaders, green groups and academics. Critics say this attitude explains why policy on cross-border pollution is deficient.

Authorities on both sides of the border often cite the Hong Kong-Guangdong Environmental Protection Liaison Group as evidence that close co-operation exists, though these officials only meet about once a year. At their last meeting in November, mainland delegates tried to avoid joining a press briefing intended to give the public some sense of what had been discussed.

Dr Barron, whose "Heading Towards Sustainability" report predicts declining air quality, blames "both the weak political will to adopt an integrated approach and growth/development pressures faced by the region" for the current state of affairs.

"The most obvious thing is there's far too much emphasis on the Environmental Protection Department, but they are largely restricted to end-of-pipe solutions," he says.

He argues that Hong Kong must work much more closely with Guangdong authorities. "The Government has this group that doesn't seem to be actually doing anything. The air and water quality is not entirely under our own control. We recognise that's sensitive, but just because it's sensitive doesn't mean that's an excuse for not dealing with it," he says.

Mr Salkeld admits there is a lack of data on how Hong Kong is affected by water and factory emissions from the Pearl River Delta. But he insists cross-border pollutants are "immediate things" which need Government action this year. "What we need to build up is a picture covering the whole region, how emissions are reacting together," he says.

A Government study of air quality in the Pearl River Delta is due to start in April. In addition, the University of Science and Technology and Zhongshan University will examine the quality of water piped here from the Dongjiang River. They hope to gather precise data about factory run-offs as the basis for a clean-up strategy.

"No matter what treatment we do at this end, it's not going to address the problem of nitrogen and phosphorus, pesticides and fertilisers which are running off into the water," says Mr Salkeld.

Some action has already taken place. Fourteen factories have been moved from an official "protection zone" around Dongjiang's waterways, which supply 70 per cent of Hong Kong's drinking water.

To move things along, Dr Barron, the General Chamber of Commerce, and Greenpeace China say Hong Kong-owned enterprises in Guangdong could be a starting point for Government policy.

"At the moment, Hong Kong is not leading the way - in fact, it probably will be the other way round. I would bet on China," says Greenpeace China's director Ho Wai-chi. "The Government has to set a priority and encourage investment in good technology."

Dr Barron agrees. "Factories owned by Hong Kong firms . . . need to be targeted. At the moment none of us really knows what the solution is and we need to go beyond this [existing cross-border] liaison group," he says. "Maybe in the long run things will work out; but in the meantime we are all choking."

Friends of the Earth, another environmental pressure group, also has called on the Chief Executive to "show some interest" in the issue. "Right now, the whole mechanism is not transparent enough, and this [cross-border] group meeting once a year is not enough," says Plato Yip Kwong-to, executive director of the lobbying organisation.

"We need to involve higher officials such as Tung [Chee-hwa] or the Chief Secretary and the Provincial Secretary or Mayor from Guangdong," he says, adding that "public opinion and accountability in this issue are very important".

Rather than wait for Government action, the General Chamber of Commerce plans its own March seminar for discussions with businesses operating in Guangzhou and southern China. Chairman Peter Sutch is keen to encourage a "pro-active stance".

Environmental consultant Norman Di Perno has also called for formation of an industry or trade group to raise awareness of how mainland operations affect Hong Kong. He says factory owners need to be shown "what the cause and effect of their actions is . . . and what's happening in Hong Kong as a result.

"To make that long-term move forward they need to understand the economic argument why it's necessary. Business can be more efficient and effective and more environmentally friendly," Mr Di Perno says.

Across the border, an official of Guangdong's Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) insists that Hong Kong-owned businesses are a big part of the problem. "There are a considerable number of small to medium-size Hong Kong businesses here, and they cause a considerable amount of pollution," he says.

The official also points to ageing state-owned enterprises with poor technology and inefficient practices as another problem. Prosecution for violating environmental laws is difficult, he says.

The Deputy Director of Guangdong's EPB, Li Yihui, says any official Chinese move on cross-border pollution might conflict with the Basic Law. Beijing would be "very unlikely" to let a mainland bureaucrat sit on Hong Kong's Advisory Committee on the Environment, she explains. Even efforts to standardise air and water quality ratings could raise the same question, she says.

Because of pollution, there are calls for drinking water to be piped from farther upstream. The Citizens Party has come up with a solution which the Government claims is "up to the Guangdong authorities" to carry out: buy up land around the Dongjiang River to stop human and livestock waste from running into it.

However, Ms Li of the Guangdong EPB says she has never heard that idea, which suggests there is limited communication between the bureaucracies. She said it would be considered if forwarded officially.

Meanwhile, more could be done inside the SAR. "On both air and water, the majority of problems are being caused by what's being produced in Hong Kong," says Mr Salkeld.

For example, requiring taxis to switch from diesel fuel to LPG was endorsed by the Chief Executive in his last policy speech, but it is yet to be approved by Legco. And the EPD recently toughened emissions controls to bring the SAR into line with European and US standards.

A Government bureaucracy overhaul, which will see municipal councils scrapped and responsibilities such as waste management and food hygiene control given to a new bureau, is another part of an increased emphasis on environmental matters, says Mr Salkeld.

By year-end, the Government will have the findings of a $40 million consultancy study which is considering the economic, social and environmental impact of every major policy. The study is called Susdev21.

Its focus is "sustainable development" - an already "over-used concept", according to Greenpeace's Dr Bode - and it is to be the core around which future policy is built. Once findings of this controversial study are known, all social, economic and environmental "costs" are supposed to be factored into government decisions.

However, green groups and some academics believe the strategy already has been co-opted to serve the Government's own ends.

"It doesn't seem to be leading anywhere. It might be a way to assess policy but is not policy itself," Dr Barron says. "I'm not sure spending more than a year and all this money is the best way to go - it's doubtful whether Hong Kong will be able to meet even minimal standards of environmental quality."

Greenpeace China's Mr Ho also criticises the SAR's policy direction as "superficial - lacking in moral and ethical commitment".

"From his last policy speech it was clear the reason why Tung Chee-hwa cares: it is because he wants to have a clean environment for businessmen, so they stay here to do business," he says. "He's not interested in protecting the environment for its own sake - it's because it serves an economic function. And it's really easy if there's a conflict between economic and environmental benefits; the economic consideration will be the priority."

Mr Sutch, as head of the General Chamber of Commerce, has written to Mr Tung calling for urgent action.

"I don't believe that we should be looking at an issue as fundamentally important as deteriorating environmental standards simply in terms of whether it influences overseas investors," says the chairman of John Swire & Sons (HK) Ltd. "All of our citizens have a fundamental right to a decent quality of life, to clean air, clear streets and countryside and an unpolluted sea. This shouldn't have anything to do with attracting overseas money."

Ultimately, green groups, business leaders and citizens agree that Hong Kong must change its ways. Mr Salkeld acknowledges that people have grown more aware of pollution and environment issues, especially during the past year.

"We have to make better choices for the environment and the economy . . . which will influence the way people feel about the place. It's important that people feel happy living here," he says.

From South China Morning Post

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


No short-term fixes on the job front

No 1 worry: trade unionists stage a demonstration outside the Central Government Offices over lost jobs. Tourism and information technology are being viewed as industries crucial to a turnaround in employment fortunes.

January 28  1999

RACHEL CLARKE

Getting a good job has become a preoccupation of Hong Kong life. No longer do new graduates from school and university have employers queuing up to offer high-paying work, and no longer can workers switch easily from career to career.

Hong Kong often changes its employment base to meet global fashions, sometimes literally, as when it became the world's leading wig-maker. Now many believe it is time to switch again because the boom-and-bust cycle of construction and property has had its day.

Though real estate almost certainly will remain crucial, other sectors hold greater promise for long-term growth and high-quality jobs.

The need for change is shown by manufacturing, once an economic mainstay. Between 1990 and 1997, the number of factory jobs more than halved to 309,160.

But whether the SAR can change fast enough remains uncertain. Its Council of International Advisers - a group of leading overseas businessmen - warned operating costs must come down and the environment must be cleaned up to attract new investment. As council member Sir William Purves, former chairman of HSBC Holdings, noted: "There's a realisation by the Chief Executive that, yes, some diversification is required."

A closer look at two potential growth industries - the old one of tourism and the newer one of information technology - shows diversifying is not easy. It suggests why Tung Chee-hwa concedes "there are no short-term fixes".

Tourism is a clean, labour-intensive business which has brought huge amounts of cash and kudos in the past and can do so again - if the right decisions are made. Concrete suggestions include exploiting Mickey Mouse, a colonial history, and Jackie Chan. Meantime, developing the new field of information technology (IT) is an official government goal - but just how remains undecided.

There is no shortage of fine-sounding official pledges. In his Policy Speech last October, Mr Tung promised to "create conditions for growth" in these and other sectors. For example, there are plans for a world-class opera hall on the West Kowloon reclamation and a science park in the New Territories.

Yet the science park was in both the 1997 and 1998 budgets and was termed "crucial" by government consultants even earlier, but has not been built. As for the tourist-attracting opera hall, there is no agreement on giving it top priority when many other needs exist.

Both industries want bolder and more precise long-term strategies, not just platitudes. Executives say the private sector will jump at real opportunities but not at vague pledges in government policy papers. For IT in particular, these declared objectives include "maintaining an open and competitive telecommunications market . . . [to] encourage private sector investment and innovation", but say nothing about costs or the quality of staff.

This imprecision frustrates many in the technology industry as they deal with problems ranging from finding the right employees to paying the rent. For example, the head of one satellite communications company's Asian division calls the market potential of China his main reason for staying in Hong Kong.

As a newcomer to Asia, he says he needs just one office to cover the region. But as his company grows, this executive says he might then close his costly Hong Kong operation, while opening one in Beijing for China and another in Singapore for Southeast Asia.

The Government has been too slow to deregulate the telecommunications industry, in his opinion. The Government now champions market-opening moves, which should bring him new business, particularly as companies will be allowed to build their own relay stations next year. But he claims this should have happened sooner.

Chip Barton, a vice-president in the Asia-Pacific region of AT&T, also welcomes market liberalisation, but says there is more to do.

"To have a vibrant hi-tech centre, you [need] not only the best in telecommunications infrastructure, you [need] innovative service options and prices that are much more reasonable than we have today. That will translate into increased usage," he says.

Like others in the business, he believes liberalisation must continue. "That barrel is going down the hill and if Hong Kong does not jump inside, it will get left behind. The Government has opened the door . . . but it needs to be opened further," he contends.

Opening market doors may not appeal to those who now dominate the market, such as Hongkong Telecom. But Mr Barton cites AT&T's history as the one-time holder of a US long-distance monopoly. "Our market share has gone from almost 100 per cent down to 50 per cent, but our volumes have increased 10-fold. Prices have come down dramatically - it's a win-win situation for the industry, consumers and businesses," he says.

And new "jobs that were created in this same industry have far exceeded" old ones that were lost, he says.

But if telecoms job growth increases in Hong Kong, businesses will face another problem - finding qualified new staff. There is a widely held belief that local university graduates and other new employees often are not up to the mark. Even when computer and technology-literate, they often lack an innovative spark or the requisite skills, industry heads say.

"You can get quality staff in Singapore far more easily than you can in Hong Kong," says the satellite company executive. "There is a certain degree of creativity in what we do and we need people who can think."

For example, IT bosses want engineers who can think laterally about applying their knowledge and selling it to benefit customers, and they say this trait is sadly lacking here.

"That's a function of the education system," says the businessman, echoing an industry criticism. "I would just like to be able to look in the job resource pool and to feel more confident that the quality of staff we are getting in the future is at a higher level than right now."

The science park scheduled to be built at Pak Shek Kok on land reclaimed from Tolo Harbour aims to change that, though any notion that a Silicon Valley will appear overnight is laughed at.

In most overseas centres of innovation, businesses feed off nearby research universities. In his Policy Speech, Mr Tung boasted that local universities spend $3.2 billion annually on research, but little of it goes to technology. Such projects received less than $1.2 billion of public money in the past decade, though there is now $5 billion of seed capital in a new and untested Innovation and Technology Fund.

Antony Ip, who co-founded Internet business Outblaze last May, calls himself a "realistic optimist"; he believes that the people and will do exist and, once the money flows, the future could be bright. However, "until you have some businesses, you aren't going to see success stories and, until then, you aren't going to see piles of people coming into the industry".

Starting small, Outblaze has been able to take the best available people and train them. AT&T does much the same, but scale makes it more difficult.

"It is pretty darn expensive to do training here, relative to the rest of the region. Frequently we have to bring people in . . . because it's difficult to find courses here at reasonable cost that do what we need," Mr Barton says.

The Commission on Technology has already told Mr Tung that Hong Kong needs to become a source of technology for China as well as a regional supplier of technical personnel. Its final report is due in mid-year, but it remains to be seen whether the study will take a co-ordinated approach on costs, education and market freedom - or whether the industry is left to fight its own battles.

It is easier to be upbeat about tourism. The World Tourism Organisation predicts China will be the top global destination in 2020, attracting more than 137 million visitors a year.

This is 35 million people more than are expected to visit the United States, No 2 on the list.

Hong Kong will be destination No 5 in that year, the WTO predicts, soaring from 15th place in 1997, and should then welcome 59.3 million visitors.

Those figures help make Douglas Gautier, deputy executive director of the Hong Kong Tourist Association, bullish about the future. Thus he calls the recession - there were 9.6 million visitors last year compared with 10.4 million in 1997 and a record 11.7 million in 1996 - a "down time" which will let the SAR regroup, identify needed changes and move forward.

"China is a huge opportunity for us . . . but we have got to look at ways to enhance that connection. [In addition to] the main cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Xian, we need to look at our market in the southern areas - Kunming, Guilin, Xiamen and Hainan," he says.

This could involve offering two-site tour packages which combine scenery, cities and tastes of mainland life. And a Hainan package could add a beach resort for those who might otherwise visit Cebu or Bali.

More ambivalent is Mandarin Oriental general manager Liam Lambert. He is not yet convinced the necessary changes will happen, and calls the pending appointment of a new commissioner for tourism a crucial matter. At the moment, Mr Lambert sees all who profit from tourism as lone wolves looking for kills, without a strong leader to marshal the pack, devise a strategy and use whatever is needed to increase the spoils.

Mexico proved that long-term strategies work, he says. Thirty years ago, Mexico chose North America as its main market and decided to find what tourists wanted. When the answers proved to be sun, sea and sand, tourism officials found places which could offer them - such as Acapulco, Cancun and Ixtapa.

"These places were not developed; there was not a hotel in sight," he recalls. "They put in airports, long streets away from the beach, created tax incentives for hoteliers . . . and 12 years later you have Cancun, holiday destination extraordinaire. In Hong Kong, it's a different kettle of fish. When demand increases, entrepreneurs build hotels; when demand decreases, entrepreneurs close hotels - look at the Victoria, the Lee Gardens and the Hilton."

But the need to name a new commissioner for tourism - a post finally announced in October but still with no incumbent - offers the chance to devise a coherent strategy. Detailed market research is needed, stressed Mr Lambert, who says he has never seen a credible breakdown of what tourists want from Hong Kong, despite many surveys by the Tourist Association.

The Government's top man for tourism is Secretary for Economic Services Stephen Ip Shu-kwan. He says the research is complete and plans are being drafted.

For example, while there is not yet an exact site, design or name for a world-class performing arts venue to match Sydney's Opera House, he promises one will be built.

There also will be a theme park, perhaps a Disneyland type, a wetlands park near Mai Po and maybe a Film City to serve as an Asian Universal Studios.

Mr Ip believes now is the time to act. The economic slump, he says, "has been a blessing in disguise. Yes, we suffer now, but it will help us to compete". Costs are the key, he believes, saying hotel room charges must drop further to compete with rivals like Thailand and even Japan, where he recently found prices much lower than here.

Tourist chief Mr Gautier and Mr Lambert agree more should be done with Victoria Harbour; Mr Lambert dreams of broad promenades around the Kowloon peninsula and from Western to North Point where people could stroll, roller-blade or cycle.

They might also pass through perhaps the world's longest shopping arcade, offering both a full range of products and air-conditioned relief in summer.

For Mr Ip, such grand plans must be funded by private investors, not the Government. "Hong Kong should provide the environment and let the businessman invest," he insists.

In five years, Mr Ip hopes to see a cable car from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping monastery on Lantau, a theme park nearly completed and many more tourists on cleaner streets. But he warns this probably won't happen if Hong Kong remains so expensive.

Mr Gautier's argument is that there is already value for money, and this should be emphasised while developing new attractions such as one highlighting Hong Kong's role as the "Hollywood of the East".

Mr Lambert would also welcome tourist theme parks, an Expo at Kai Tak and more exhibitions. However, he says business travellers produce four times as much profit and remain more important to the hotel industry.

From South China Morning Post

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


Conflicting signposts on SAR's political path

January 27  1999

CHRIS YEUNG

Eighteen months after the end of colonial rule, people are at a loss about how to run the territory in the years ahead.

Pro-democracy politicians argue that moving faster towards democratic elections would solve fundamental constitutional problems, because it would let voters decide who leads them and what government policies would be.

However, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa makes clear that now is not the time for drastic change.

Though neither business executives nor Tung-friendly political parties think the status quo is fine, they are convinced that more intense elective politics would aggravate management problems rather than solve them.

They would rather change the executive-led system gradually by drafting private sector experts into senior civil service ranks while pressing other bureaucrats to improve efficiency.

Civil servants concede the situation is far from ideal, but warn against both radical overhaul of the system or accelerating democracy. For one thing, they say it is necessary to heed Beijing's stated worries about "over-politicisation" of the SAR when deciding just how people should exercise autonomous power.

Meanwhile, from the sidelines, often-neutral academics say Mr Tung needs to change his strategy of governance and his scepticism about politics. They cite a broad range of fundamental questions about governing Hong Kong, which they say have emerged since the handover and need to be settled soon. These include:

According to Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Michael Suen Ming-yeung, the present system will do, provided civil servants learn to work more effectively.

"Yes, we are not elected. But we should and can do our job . . . as if we are elected, to get public support," he says. "We worked behind closed doors in the past. Nowadays, we are more transparent and consult more during the process before a decision is taken."

He says the community should start a territory-wide debate after Legco elections next year to seek a consensus on whether there should be popular elections for the chief executive and the full Legco beginning in 2008. The Government plans to publish a paper outlining the leading issues and possible solutions before long.

"Direct elections are not the single issue. The governance of Hong Kong will be in doubt if we just talk about direct elections but not the necessary changes to the whole system," says Mr Suen.

The emergence of a majority party in Legco would challenge the executive-led system and drastically change relations between the two branches of government, he believes.

Under the Basic Law, half the Legco seats in the third term (2004-07) are to be selected by functional constituencies. The other 30 are to be popularly elected from geographical constituencies. After 2007, the law allows Hong Kong to switch to a fully directly-elected legislature.

Mr Tung, whose term expires in 2002, consistently rejects calls for speedier democracy or even early discussion of adopting a ministerial system. "I think what is most important now is for us to consider how to strengthen our administrative structure, listen more to the voices of the people and respond more actively to the views of the people and councillors," he has said.

But two senior officials say privately they do not know what Mr Tung has in mind. According to one of them, "Tung might have other considerations . . . But there's no turning back the trend [of democratisation]. Beijing's views are absolutely important. That's why we shouldn't scare them; we should try to allay their fears and explain how we proceed with our plan."

The other says: "2007 is not far away. I don't see any preparation from the senior leadership and the community for it. We have no political leaders . . . But I can accept full democracy as soon as possible. Let them run the show and bear the consequences. It sounds better than the present situation."

At the same time, this official urges parties to play a more constructive role and formulate their own policies. They should think more about some day running a government, not only of staying in opposition.

However, Martin Lee Chu-ming, chairman of the Democratic Party, calls it "utter nonsense" to suggest the parties are not already prepared to rule. "No party will ever be ready, because none of them have experience. Tung was never ready to be the CE . . . If you do well, you'll get re-elected. If not, somebody else will take over. That's what democracy is all about," he says.

Mr Lee also favours a system which lets any party with a Legco majority form the government. "I don't think it's so difficult . . . Anybody can take over from Tung if they can trust and work with the civil service," he says.

He says resolving political issues would be easier if Mr Tung saw his most important role as building a bridge between Beijing and Hong Kong. "He should allay fears in Beijing over democratisation and the very mild demonstrations in Hong Kong. He should cultivate mutual trust. His second role is to provide a good environment for business investment: law and order, rule of law, freedom and a level playing field. That's all," Mr Lee says.

However, Mr Lee believes the Chief Executive is "changing the whole ethos of governance and departing from the successful formula of positive non-intervention . . . Everybody now expects the Government to help. It's highly dangerous."

Another top politician, Tsang Yok-sing, leader of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), differs from Mr Lee on many issues, but does agree Hong Kong faces a dilemma.

"We can only cross the river by feeling the stones. So far, I don't see any perfect formula. Whether we should go for ministerial or full universal suffrage" remains a divisive issue, he contends. Yet he does not believe legislators are powerless under the present system. "We can block all government bills. We can apply the brake, but not the accelerator," he says.

With no party of its own, the Government must usually make concessions to secure politicians' support.

"The result is that there are no coherent principles and philosophies behind government policies. Policies become a product of compromise - chaotic and inconsistent," he complains, "though many political scientists say compromise is the essence of democracy".

That would not happen, Mr Tsang continues, if there was "a strong ruling party. But we don't have stable party politics . . . It's not that voters are not ready; political parties are not ready".

He says the fact that officials do not have to bear political responsibility for decisions is not always a bad thing, citing the Government's stock market intervention last August as an example.

"Donald Tsang might not have done it if any failure meant he had to step down. Here we see the power of an executive-led structure; they pressed ahead with the decision even though the whole of Legco opposed it."

Likewise, Executive Councillor Henry Tang Ying-yen does not think the present system is fundamentally flawed. He says it did not do badly with the many crises it has faced over the past 18 months, from red tides to sick chickens and a flawed airport opening.

Mr Tang believes heading towards democracy is the right direction, but he is concerned about the pace. "Voters need to become more mature to cope with the development of our political system. We should not have a situation under which the political system moves quickly but our voters' maturity develops slowly," he warns.

By contrast, Eric Li Ka-cheung, a non-affiliated legislator, believes Mr Tung's style of governing, not democracy itself, is the key issue.

"Anson Chan is supposed to do the internal administration while Tung plays the political role. There are problems on both accounts," he says. Included are Mr Tung's working relationship with senior civil servants and political parties, and efficiency in the civil service.

However, Mr Li does not consider these insurmountable.

"Tung can absolutely tell the officials he will find others to do the job if they are not willing to implement his policies," he says. "Secondly, there are more and more indications that Tung is now more actively talking to political parties which share his views and are able to communicate with him. He can solicit support from these parties to form some sort of coalition government without having to set up a ministerial system.

"Thirdly, he is aware of the need to revamp the civil service and has taken steps to do so. If he can do all these, he can solve some of the problems and relieve the political pressure in the near future," says Mr Li.

But City University political scientist Anthony Cheung Bing-leung argues "everyone is a loser" if the present system is not overhauled.

"Tung found difficulty in pushing his policies. The democrats are doomed to be an opposition that cannot deliver. Senior officials who are actually playing the role of ministers still see themselves as career bureaucrats," he says.

Meanwhile, there is the need to keep good relations with mainland authorities. "China wants Hong Kong to become an administrative state in which politics is insignificant. The reality is that Hong Kong is more like a city-state," he says.

Yet Dr Cheung does not expect to find "politicians with far-sightedness" - like Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew - coming from the civil service.

"The more likely channel . . is elections. If we begin to see elections as the only way out in the future, there will be more talented people emerging. When they see there's a future in politics, we will have people like Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher," he predicts.

However, leading businessmen like Li Ka-shing have distinctly limited enthusiasm for local democracy.

He recently said he was delaying an unspecified $10 billion investment because Hong Kong had become too political for his taste.

In fact, one government official concedes that businessmen are pressing the administration to go slow on democracy for fear it might upset China and spoil the investment climate.

He personally disagrees and says business leaders should "form their own parties. Why should they assume they would lose in elections?"

In the end, Dr Cheung says China's stance will be decisive. "If Beijing says there will be full democracy in 2008, I'm sure the business sector will be able to adapt and prepare very quickly."

But Professor Lau Siu-kai of the Chinese University believes Mr Tung could do more to resolve disputes - such as deciding the extent of social welfare programmes. "Faced with conflicting demands from elites and the masses, he could try to gain public support by striking a balance," he explains.

In fact, he interprets the recent move to cut welfare benefits as an attempt to shift emphasis from a "can do" government to one which preaches "self-reliance." Past government spending on things such as social services, in his view, has unnecessarily increased public dependency.

His advice to the Chief Executive: "Don't make an enemy of Legco, but share with it and give it influence in policies so that members will feel involved."

But if Mr Tung fails to provide good leadership, he predicts the demand for faster democracy will grow. "At the end of the day, it all depends on whether Tung wants to . . . create the environment for talented people to play their part in running Hong Kong," Professor Lau says.

From South China Morning Post

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


When the rule of law is paramount

Published on Tuesday  January 26  1999

CLIFF BUDDLE

When judges took their seats for the most important constitutional case heard by the top court only three weeks ago, they knew they would, to some extent, be ruling on the future.

They were presiding over a battle by mainland migrants for the right to stay in the SAR - a legal dispute which demonstrates how little is known about how one country, two systems works. It raised questions about the limits on autonomy and the extent to which human rights are protected by the Basic Law.

As the migrants' lawyer, Denis Chang SC, put it: "We are in virgin constitutional territory."

This is just one of several cases which have fuelled debate about the future of the hallowed rule-of-law concept, often seen as the key to Hong Kong's success.

The rule of law brings stability to people's lives and protects them from unfair treatment, ensures that business can be conducted with confidence and attracts investment. But concern has been expressed that it is not fully understood by all Hong Kong's leaders and, particularly, not by officials on the mainland.

To what extent is the rule of law under threat?

Fears that the legal system would be swept away by the handover have proved unfounded, and lawyers are now re-assessing the impact of the return to China. Their main concern arises from the stark differences between the legal systems on either side of the border.

According to Stanley Lubman, a specialist on China's legal system and a consulting professor at Stanford University Law School in California: "The rule of law, as we know it, didn't exist in China historically. There is no tradition of the rule of law. Also, 40 years of communism has left a legacy of domination of society by party and state intertwined.

"In 1996, President Jiang Zemin uttered the words, 'Rule the country by law.' That expression, however, was only the first part of a longer sentence. The balance was, 'Protect the nation's long-term stability.' That last phrase is intended to signify continued party dominance."

Contrast this with the rule of law in Hong Kong, defined by Director of Public Prosecutions Grenville Cross SC, as "the absence of arbitrary action by the Government, everyone being equal before the law, an independent judiciary, and the rights of the citizen clearly defined."

Applying that concept is seen as vital to attract business to the SAR and uphold its reputation in the international community.

Mr Cross says: "That community must know Hong Kong is a safe place to do business, that corruption will not be tolerated, that the finance system is properly regulated and that insider dealing won't be countenanced."

Any blurring of the two systems is thought likely to damage Hong Kong. But there are questions about whether the SAR's legal safeguards will ensure this will not happen.

Prime among these is the Basic Law - the post-handover constitution. It is relied upon to guarantee autonomy plus the principles of its legal system and respect for human rights. But whether that law will be interpreted by judges in Hong Kong or officials in China, and the extent to which it really protects rights, remains open to question.

Professor Yash Ghai from the University of Hong Kong worries about uncertainties surrounding important parts of the Basic Law. For example, Article 158 allows the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to interpret the Basic Law in cases referred to it by the Court of Final Appeal - something that has not yet happened.

Professor Ghai said: "It will be interesting to see how the NPC deals with it, what kind of general principles they state. Our judges in a particular case are concerned with a process of interpretation. How the Standing Committee will do that remains to be seen."

The Basic Law Committee, a political rather than legal body, has six members from Hong Kong and six from the mainland. The NPC is supposed to consult the committee before ruling on any interpretation of the Basic Law.

Professor Ghai says procedures should be established to define how such consultation will take place and how decisions will be made.

He argues that advice to the NPC should be published, with consideration given to whether procedures comply with basic principles of fairness used in Hong Kong courts. Some light may be shed on this issue soon because the Court of Final Appeal is considering whether the child-migrants case should be referred to the NPC.

That case also shows that even when the Basic Law appears to protect a fundamental right, things may not be as simple as they seem. Mainland-born migrants came to Hong Kong, hoping to exercise a right of abode which seemed granted to those with a permanent resident as a parent. But soon after the handover, the provisional legislature introduced new immigration controls which restricted the exercise of that right. The Government argues that the measures can be justified by applying a different part of the Basic Law, one dealing with mainland emigration controls. This has been attacked by the migrants' lawyers as undermining autonomy.

Ian Wingfield, the Government's highest-ranking law officer (civil law), said different philosophical approaches have been applied to the Basic Law. "To us in the administration, the primary purpose was to continue the legal system as it existed before the handover. But a number of people take the view there has been a fundamental change in the legal system, which then means one cannot be certain what the position is.

"We are developing interpretation of the Basic Law and it will take another year or two before we have a clear idea exactly what the perimeters are."

Another area of uncertainty is the lack of an agreement over "rendition", the transfer of suspected criminals between the mainland and the SAR.

The trial of "Big Spender" Cheung Tze-keung raised fears that Hong Kong people might regularly be tried on the mainland for crimes committed in the SAR. Cheung, a notorious gang boss, was executed after a Guangzhou trial for crimes including kidnapping tycoons in Hong Kong.

Assistant Professor Fu Hualing of the University of Hong Kong said: "So far as the criminal law is concerned, I don't feel that the prosecution of Big Spender has in any sense endangered one country, two systems. It is a matter of two jurisdictions." But he questions the meaning of Article 6 of the mainland's criminal code which says suspects can be tried there if the "consequences" of their actions take place on the mainland.

"I do not know what the meaning of this is. If Martin Lee Chu-ming says something in Hong Kong which is broadcast in the mainland, is that the type of consequence they are talking about?". Professor Fu suggests that the Hong Kong Government ask the mainland's Supreme People's Court to rule on this to end uncertainty.

He also believes the SAR has far to go in defining its relationship with the mainland. "Taiwan is far ahead of Hong Kong. They took the first step to recognise mainland arbitration awards. Maybe Hong Kong needs something like this. Taiwan also has an extradition agreement."

Arbitration, a process which allows businesses to settle disputes privately without the time and expense of court battles, is another problem area. As a result of the handover, Hong Kong's right to use an international convention on arbitration, signed by Britain, has lapsed.

"At the present time, international arbitration awards in the mainland cannot be enforced in Hong Kong and vice versa," said Ben Beaumont, a Hong Kong barrister and Chairman of the Forum for International Commercial Arbitration. He said companies were being advised to take their arbitration to Singapore or even Mauritius, rather than Hong Kong, until the problem was resolved. An agreement is expected soon, but Mr Beaumont said the matter should have been sorted out before the handover.

Even if problems such as these concerning the relationship with the mainland are resolved, can those responsible for running the SAR be relied on to uphold the rule of law?

Government reaction to concern raised about the concept attracts criticism. Paul Harris, founding chairman of the Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor, said: "One thing which concerns me about Mr Tung [Chee-hwa] that he does not appear to understand what the rule of law means."

Mr Harris said his human rights group had, during its first meeting with the Chief Executive, raised the question of Taiwanese flags celebrating the Taiwanese "double tenth" holiday being removed by police without legal authority.

"Mr Tung's response was, 'All right, let me tell you, I am 60 years of age and in my life I have learned that the one China policy is the best policy'," said Mr Harris.

"He showed no understanding of the fact that what we were protesting about was not that they were Taiwanese flags, but that the police had no power to do what they did. That failure to understand what the rule of law means is a worrying prospect for the future," he said.

The development of democracy in Hong Kong is essential to the rule of law, Mr Harris believes. Mr Tung, as an appointed official, does not have to be responsive to public concern as would a democratically elected leader.

"The rule of law does not just mean obeying laws which someone has made, which they may or may not have the moral authority to make, and may or may not be making in the interests of the community. It means everybody is subject to the law, including the highest people in government," said Mr Harris.

Doubts have also been raised by the failure to prosecute Xinhua for an apparent breach of data privacy laws, as well as the decision against putting publishing tycoon Sally Aw Sian in the dock though she was named as an alleged fraud conspirator. It led to claims that political connections had enabled both to evade trial.

But the Government has fought back against its critics. Prosecutions chief Mr Cross pledged that no one would be able to avoid a trial because of political connections so long as he was on the job.

"I would never tolerate it. Political contacts and persuasions play no part in the decisions we take here," he said.

While accepting the importance of people being allowed to speak out about matters of concern, Mr Cross rounded on those who raise fears about the future of the rule of law.

"It does concern me that there is a lot of alarmist and negative comment, and this provokes alarm in the community that is wholly unnecessary. It gives Hong Kong a bad image abroad. There has been much crying wolf. If it ever does come to pass that there is a cause for concern, the real fear is it will not be taken seriously," said Mr Cross.

The right to speak one's mind is frequently defended by Audrey Eu Yuet-mee SC, who stepped down as chairman of the Bar Association last week. She is particularly concerned about the need to maintain high standards among lawyers, who are relied upon to uphold the law.

Ms Eu worries that too many new lawyers are entering the profession without sufficient regard to the quality of their training. Her concern has been echoed by Chief Justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang, who urges universities to improve law courses and raise the qualifications needed by students who seek to take them.

Ms Eu has also expressed fear about a proposed law which could open the floodgates to lawyers from abroad at a time when many barristers are feeling the effects of recession.

She said: "It is not a question of protecting lawyers so they can all become fat cats. It is a question of survival. Eventually, the top end will go from the locally based independent profession, which contributes to the rule of law. And where will we get the judges from?"

While Hong Kong continues to struggle to define its identity under the one country, two systems concept, radical changes appear to be under way on the mainland.

Prof Wang Chenguang, associate law professor at City University, said China has introduced reforms which would make its system more like Hong Kong's. Concepts such as the presumption of innocence, limits on detention by the state, access to lawyers and challenges to administrative decisions, are being introduced. But it will be a slow process.

"It is very easy to change the rules, but much more difficult to make the rules applicable in practice," he said. For many judges in China, old habits die hard. "But we can't fire all the judges. We have to take them and try to change their working practices and particularly their ideology. That won't happen quickly."

Professor Wang said the reforms, if successful, could be important to Hong Kong. "It will give more confidence to Hong Kong businessmen operating on the mainland."

Hong Kong could play a tutorial role with regard to the reforms, according to Professor Lubman. "If China let Hong Kong be a small universe of legality, that would enhance the reputation and international standing of the PRC."

Professor Fu said the part played by the rule of law in Hong Kong's economic success was a prime reason for mainland reforms. "Without economic success, Hong Kong's rule of law would not have so much impact on the mainland." But in time, the mainland's system could become similar to that in the SAR.

His conclusion: "I am quite confident that, after 50 years, Hong Kong will win."

From South China Morning Post

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


Challenge of defining our tomorrow

New dawn: PLA soldiers are greeted as they roll over the border on July 1, 1997. Eighteen months on, the SAR is still grappling with its place in the world.

Published on Monday  January 25  1999

ROBERT KEATLEY

When Hong Kong reverted to Chinese sovereignty, there were concerns worldwide about what Beijing might do.

Eighteen months later, the mainland's main response is clear - it has not done much. As promised, Hong Kong has largely been left to manage its own affairs for better or worse.

Though senior British officials have gone, Chinese bureaucrats have not moved in or begun issuing orders to their local counterparts.

That has brought a sense of relief but also a nagging anxiety, according to many citizens who ponder the SAR's future.

They welcome the extra autonomy, but with it has come more responsibility, along with an increasingly complex set of issues which need to be tackled.

To date there is only a limited consensus about how to meet these challenges.

The problems come in two broad categories.

Many are pressing economic issues which stem from the current financial crisis in East Asia.

These include plunging property prices which have shattered the net worth of property tycoons and ordinary flat-owners alike, worker lay-offs and a big drop in the retail trade.

Overall, the economy shrank at least five per cent last year, and most estimates for this year predict a further one per cent to three per cent decline.

Because so many of these problems are caused by the region's financial relapse, they remain largely beyond Hong Kong's control.

Optimists predict the economic tide will turn by year's end, with the SAR and much of Asia again registering positive growth figures. Others say it will take somewhat longer before the good times can roll again.

But beyond these more immediate problems - however serious they may be - are longer-term questions about how Hong Kong should define itself, how it should be governed and what basic policies it should follow.

These involve, among other things, how to maintain or improve education, the environment, the legal system, job creation and the business climate. So far, there are many suggestions but little agreement on any of these items.

Today the South China Morning Post begins a week-long series of articles which explore some of these issues. They are intended to help define and explain basic choices which need to be made, rather than to prescribe solutions. The hope is to add a bit of clarity to public debate about the future.

The concerns start with the issue of the SAR's fundamental identity. No longer someone's overseas colony, Hong Kong now is part of China and separate from it - "one country, two systems", as officials on both sides of the border say repeatedly.

But that does not necessarily give useful guidance about how closely Hong Kong should be integrated into Guangdong province or to what extent it should seek an independent international identity.

Opinions differ. Over dinner not long ago, two leading property magnates berated bureaucrats for failing to see the former colony as part of a greater China. Even official maps, these businessmen complained, show neighbouring areas as mostly blank spaces rather than as a region of tight interconnections.

But others say preserving the differences, both civil and commercial, is crucial to Hong Kong's prosperity. They want to strengthen its role as an international, bilingual business centre which operates in global markets - even while exploiting a special access to China.

As Victor Fung Kwok-king, chairman of the Trade Development Council, has written: "Simply put, Hong Kong must become a world city. To do this will mean becoming more externally focused in economic matters - and more internally focused on quality of life issues."

Discovering the golden mean will not be easy. There is a widespread belief that Tung Chee-hwa's top priority so far has been to reassure Beijing that Hong Kong poses no political threat while also promoting a sense that it is part of a greater Chinese nation. And there is general agreement that he has done this quite well, strengthening the SAR's autonomy in the process.

But some observers believe Mr Tung has done it too well. They would rather have him speak up more firmly whenever rights need defending, such as on matters of legal jurisdiction. And they would like to see him ready to push China more aggressively on issues like launching cross-border environmental clean-ups.

"We need to find a middle way between a lack of national identity, which we can't have, and an overly chauvinistic Chinese attitude on the other hand," says one executive who has been a business and political leader for two decades.

Much depends upon what kind of relationship China itself wants with the SAR. On this point, Beijing's spokesmen are sending a clear message. It goes something like this:

Hong Kong has been extremely important to the mainland for 20 years as a source of capital, services and technology, and thereby has contributed to China's own development.

This could continue for more decades, with the SAR continuing to enjoy the many personal freedoms not available to mainland citizens. That is because China has great need for modern commercial and financial services, and Hong Kong can also teach it much about such things as administration, regulation and law.

But to remain useful, Beijing's representatives continue, the territory must run a bit faster than China itself as the mainland economy grows. As one PRC official puts it, Hong Kong must "stay on the leading edge" of China's development, "a step ahead". The unstated implication: the SAR's special privileges might be in jeopardy if it becomes just another Chinese city.

How the SAR fares also will depend to a great degree upon its own politics. Here there often seems to be more heat than light as politicians and government officials argue about what kind of system to have both today and after 2007, when the Basic Law permits major changes.

Unresolved questions include how far and fast to extend fully democratic voting, how power should be divided between the legislative and executive branches and whether Hong Kong someday should have an elected chief executive who runs the government with an appointed cabinet - perhaps one without civil servants. Many business leaders believe the politicians - notably Martin Lee Chu-ming and his Democratic Party - are proving too fractious, endangering both relations with China and the business environment (and thus their profits).

One magnate who has gone public, Li Ka-shing, has threatened to cancel an unspecified $10 billion investment due to divisive politics. (Acquaintances say this may refer to planned investment in his telecommunications holdings, which face new competition, rather than any single project.)

Mr Li is not alone in his criticism. The executive who has senior business and political experience refers scornfully to party leaders as "ankle biters".

However, the politicians contend they are doing as much as anyone to guarantee Hong Kong's future well-being. They say implementing fuller democracy will help preserve the civic freedoms and legal system that make it such a desirable place for doing business. They also believe a fully democratic system would be more responsive to public needs, such as improving education and fighting pollution.

"If you do well, you'll get re-elected. If not, somebody else will take over. That's what democracy is all about," Mr Lee says.

However Hong Kong is managed, there's no doubt that it faces new competition as a business centre. Singapore has been lowering taxes, simplifying bureaucratic rules and courting foreign companies with renewed intensity - all designed to make it, not Hong Kong, the region's leading business centre.

In the longer run, Shanghai also poses a threat, even though China does not yet have a wholly reliable legal system or a convertible currency. Some proud Shanghainese claim that as a university centre, particularly for science and technology, their city already surpasses Hong Kong.

When Mr Tung's foreign advisory panel met last week, members sent him two strong messages: improve the environment to make Hong Kong a better place to live and lower the cost of doing business.

A survey released last week by the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Hong Kong as the third most expensive business centre - trailing only Tokyo and Osaka, and with the cost gap closing.

One key cost issue involves government land policy. Many businessmen, especially from overseas, consider the high property prices a kind of hidden tax which offsets other advantages. They say property prices should drop further to help the city meet global competition. But bringing prices down, mainly by increasing supply through larger government land sales, can run contrary to the interests of leading developers who wield great political and economic influence.

Yet some say it must be done. "What is good for Hong Kong's property sector might not be good for other businesses in Hong Kong . . . and it is these businesses - more than property - that have established Hong Kong as an international business centre," says Robert Broadfoot, head of Political and Economic Risk Consultancy.

According to a senior official, however, the Government plans only modest land sales this spring when it ends a freeze. This will be intended more to hold prices near present levels than to lower them further, he explains.

Whether that is a good long-term economic policy seems certain to draw further debate.

Among other subjects which need addressing are:

Education: Many people believe the education system, despite large-scale spending, does not produce the graduates needed for modern economic life. For one thing, they find too much dependence on rote learning, and too little emphasis on innovative or creative thinking.

Complains one university professor: "All the students want to know is what do they have to memorise for exams." She finds teaching in her native Beijing more stimulating, because students there are more willing to challenge their professors.

Many critics also say the standard of English has declined in schools, even though mastering that language can bring graduates better jobs and higher pay - and is crucial to Hong Kong's international role.

For example, Vivian Lam, a director of the consulting firm Vision In Business, says she has great difficulty finding university graduates with the proper language skills. After saying he understood that English was required, one recent applicant then asked to be interviewed in Cantonese so he could understand the questions.

The environment: If there is anything that people agree on, it is that pollution is increasing. Just last week, results of a two-year study prompted one University of Hong Kong expert to predict the city will be "unliveable" in 15 years unless something is done. Mr Tung's foreign advisers cited this as one obstacle to attracting overseas financial and technical specialists.

There is no doubt more could be done to clean up the air and water and improve recreational facilities; tougher limits on diesel fuel would help, for example. But much of the pollution drifts in from the mainland and reducing that would require greater cross-border co-operation. Though a joint commission sometimes discusses common problems, it remains more a talking shop than a source of action. Some critics contend Mr Tung's administration needs to push mainland officials more aggressively for effective clean-up measures.

Job creation: Officials generally agree new job sources are needed, that the old mainstays of property and construction cannot be relied on for growth. But just where these jobs will come from remains uncertain.

Mr Tung is promoting Hong Kong as a source of traditional Chinese medicine as part of the answer. Others believe the SAR can become a repackaging centre for products from elsewhere in Asia. Much could be done to increase tourism, say officials in that industry. Above all, the Government hopes to make Hong Kong a leading technology centre, attracting clean industry and high-paying jobs.

In his policy address in October, Mr Tung said he wanted investments which would "enhance the capability of our firms to innovate and to stimulate technological development and encourage its commercialisation and application".

But sceptics abound. They cite steep land prices and relatively high labour costs as obstacles. More importantly, they say Hong Kong does not have the tradition of science education and research that has been key to the growth of technology centres such as California's Silicon Valley.

From South China Morning Post

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


Eyewitness: An Experiment in Voting, If Not Democracy

By JAIME A. FLORCRUZ Banqiao

January 25, 1999

Last week I joined an American delegation from the Atlanta-based Carter Center to observe township elections of government officials and People's Congress representatives in the verdant countryside of China's southwestern Sichuan province, about 2,000 km from Beijing. It was a rare chance to watch China's tentative experiment with electoral politics. When we arrived in Banqiao (population 1,987), a narrow hamlet of thatched houses and muddy roads, the villagers had all gathered on the basketball court of the local high school to elect three representatives to the township People's Congress. There wasn't a lot of choice: four candidates, all picked by the party, for three seats.

The "campaign" was short, confined to predictable platitudes. The candidates--the incumbent village chief, the town treasurer, the chair of the local women's association and the school principal--stood stiffly on a stage. They gave brief, stilted speeches, pledging to represent the people's interest.

By contrast, the voting was festive. Villagers chatted and schoolchildren played. Above them, paper bunting hanging on a string bore a hortatory slogan: exercise your sacred right to cast your ballot! Loudspeakers blared circa-1970s revolutionary songs as people marked the ballots on their lap. Not all residents were enthused. "These officials are all the same," a wiry farmer sniffed. "I'm not even voting." He complained angrily about the depressed price of pork and lambasted the "Zhu Ba" (Pork Despot), a local entrepreneur who has monopolized the buying and selling of pigs.

Wang Shilan, 48, held four ballots. "I'm voting for my whole family because they're busy working," she explained. "They told me whom to vote for." When votes were tallied, Lei Mingxiang, 54, the high school principal and a five-term incumbent, was the surprise loser, a victim of parents' wrath. Earlier, Lei had asked each household to fork over 100 renminbi ($12) partly to cover repair of the school building. "What can I do?" he sighs. "The government does not have enough money."

Although many local elections are flawed and even precooked, "they produce a push-pull process that is changing people's relationship with local politics," says the Carter Center's Charles Costello.

The Communist Party does have some trepidation about these "free" elections. Growing social discontent alarms China's leaders, who believe stability is necessary to improve the nation's economy. "A lot of things are going on beyond Beijing's control," notes Emory University professor Robert Pastor. That uneasiness has led to some very public crackdowns, most recently against the nascent China Democracy Party.

But the democratic spirit may spread. Predicts Zou Jiahua, a top National People's Congress official: "As the economy develops and living standards improve, people will enjoy more democracy. But nurturing democracy is a process." Chinese peasants typically do not think about the glories of remaking society. They think about smaller, more parochial matters like building roads and bridges and picking up cash by selling more kiwi fruit and pork. In their eyes, getting the chance to cast a ballot does not yet ring grandly of revolution. They'd rather find a way to get rid of the Pork Despot.

From Time Magazine

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


TUNG TRIES HARDER
Better p.r. is fine, but performance is the bottom line

HE IS LEARNING. OVER the past year, Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa has been grappling with an obvious fact: running a city of over six million is not the same as managing a business. With his "genial uncle" image, the ex-tycoon is widely seen as a decent man who wants the best for Hong Kong. But good intentions can only go so far; the public is aware that Tung has displayed little of the firm leadership and public-relations savvy needed to steer Hong Kong in these troubled times. His approval rating has suffered as a result.

So the recent moves to bolster his image and improve communication with the public are a step in the right direction. They indicate a heightened level of p.r. awareness that contrasts with the bumbling ineptitude of a year ago. At that time, as Hong Kong was swept up in the chicken-flu scare, Tung was heavily criticized for remaining aloof and not addressing the crisis in public until long after it had erupted.

Perhaps chastened by that experience (plus other fumbles), the government recently launched what has been dubbed a "charm offensive." At the start of 1999, Hong Kongers were treated to a glimpse of Tung's personal side when newspapers ran old photographs from his family album. The black-and-white pictures of a young Tung with his parents and siblings were clearly an attempt to cast a more accessible, more "human" image for the chief executive.

Tung timed the release of the photos with a radio interview, during which he spoke at length on such subjects as his early life, his experiences running a shipping firm and the difficulties of being Hong Kong's leader. He also looked to the future: "We are at the bottom of the valley. I think we will get out of it after some time." Not exactly stirring stuff, but it suggested he was trying to reach out to the people.

Another push was the creation of the new government position of "information coordinator" - put simply, Tung's spokesman and spin doctor. The move initially stirred controversy, as lawmakers demanded to know why the job paid nearly twice the salary of the equivalent position in other governments. Even so, the initiative - and the charm offensive as a whole - may help minimize friction or misunderstanding between the administration and the public.

Image-building is only one part of the equation, of course. It must be accompanied by real leadership and competence. Those qualities will be tested in Tung in the near future - and not just because of the recession. Tensions are rising between big business, which has long played a dominant role in shaping Hong Kong, and grassroots bodies, which have been calling for a more equitable and democratic society. Some business leaders have publicly warned that the agitations of the pro-democracy camp are scaring away investment. In what promises to be a battle to forge the territory's future, Tung has the delicate task of mediating between the two sides to produce a compromise that is both effective and acceptable to all. Having a well-oiled publicity machine will help, but the chief executive must still deliver the goods.

From Asiaweek

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


The Dalai Lama on his frustrations with Beijing: "I'm Ready to Talk Any Time"

JANUARY 18, 1999 VOL. 153 NO. 2

The Dalai Lama's brief chat with U.S. President Bill Clinton at the White House in November raised hopes that Beijing's leaders might at last agree to meet with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. But expectations that Washington could broker a dialogue between the 63-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner and the Chinese swiftly foundered. In an uncharacteristically somber mood, the Dalai Lama met recently with TIME's New Delhi Bureau Chief Tim McGirk in Bodh Gaya, northern India, and explained his frustrations in trying to discuss with Beijing the issue of Tibetan autonomy. Asked how the relationship was progressing, he glumly replied: "There's no news. Nothing's working."

TIME: During President Clinton's trip to China, a glimmer of hope emerged that Beijing might start talking to you. What's happened? Has the door shut?

Dalai Lama: I cannot say it's shut. "Shut" is maybe the wrong word. But there are some confusing signals coming from Beijing. One of the informal channels which we used to make contact with them is now more or less closed. It's not working.

TIME: Why did the Chinese leaders change their minds about speaking to you?

Dalai Lama: It seems that lately, the overall government policy regarding dissidents--and the democracy movement--has hardened. Their attitude toward me and Tibetans has gone the same way. It seems that the influence of the hard-liners is increasing.

TIME: Is President Jiang Zemin himself responsible for this?

Dalai Lama: We know there are two groups [in the Politburo], one moderate and one more hard-line, on Tibet.

TIME: What's next? How can you convince the Chinese leaders that there's no harm in talking with you?

Dalai Lama: My position hasn't changed in spite of the tougher Chinese attitude. I'm fully committed to the middle-way approach [of seeking autonomy for Tibet], one which can actually help to achieve genuine stability and unity for China. It's actually an antidote to separation. The Chinese government should appreciate this, but unfortunately there's too much suspicion. As soon as some positive indication comes from the Chinese government, I'm ready to talk anywhere, any time, without preconditions.

TIME: Are you optimistic?

Dalai Lama: One encouraging thing is that some Chinese writers and intellectuals are now becoming more aware about Tibet. Certainly America and Western Europe are also increasing their support for us. I'm very pessimistic for the immediate future. In the long run, though, I'm always optimistic.

TIME: At times, it seems as though the Chinese strategy is simply to ignore you and hope that they will outlast you.

Dalai Lama: Yes. One opinion [among the Chinese leadership] is that if the Dalai Lama dies things will become easier. There will no longer be any resistance in Tibet. But there's another opinion: that as long as the Dalai Lama is there, only then can a real solution be found through the middle way. Without the Dalai Lama, things could become difficult and more dangerous.

TIME: But in the meantime, it seems that Beijing is trying to destroy Tibet's separate identity.

Dalai Lama: That's my concern. Tibet's living Buddhist culture and tradition are not only of benefit to 6 million Tibetans but also to the Chinese. In the past, Tibetan Buddhist traditions have helped the Chinese a lot. In the future, these traditions can also help to give the Chinese deeper values.

TIME: In what way? Do you believe the Chinese people have lost their values?

Dalai Lama: Today, there's nothing--only money. Marxism doesn't have any effect. There's corruption and scandals everywhere. Nowadays, the Chinese are saying that if corruption is eliminated then the Communist Party will die, and if corruption is not eliminated then the country will die. Self-discipline based on spiritual values--that's the real answer to corruption.

TIME: There are reports that a new crackdown is under way in Tibet. What advice would you give to those Tibetans--in particular the Buddhist monks and nuns--who are being forced to denounce you as their spiritual leader?

Dalai Lama: I'd say O.K., denounce me. Especially if they're being subjected to physical torture. I don't want them to undergo that pain.

TIME: Why are the leaders in Beijing so afraid of you?

Dalai Lama: [He laughs and shakes his head.] I don't know. I don't know. They have big military power but no truth.

From Time Magazine

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


DENG'S WINNERS AND LOSERS 
How the economic reforms changed the lives of four ordinary folk

By Paul Mooney

THE DENG REFORMS have dramatically raised the living standards of millions of Chinese. Nonetheless, their effects are notoriously uneven. Some people have thrived; others have shriveled. Here is a revealing look at four winners and losers in the new China - a millionaire software tycoon, a political dissident, a prosperous shopkeeper and a member of the unemployed.

THE MOGUL

At the height of Mao Zedong's Anti-Rightist Campaign in the late 1950s, Wang Xuan was part of a team building China's first primitive computer. It had a catchy communist name: Red Flag. That did not endear the machine to radical Maoists, however. They dubbed it a "bourgeois toy" and made sure Wang was left off other big science projects. Later, radicals stormed Peking University where Wang worked as a mathematics professor. Following a ritual humiliation, he retreated to his home, where he began work on Chinese-language software that under the less-restrictive Deng regime would make him a millionaire known as China's Bill Gates.

Everything changed for Wang the day in 1978 when Deng stood up at a science conference and invited intellectuals in from the cold. By the mid-1980s, the government was providing breaks for high-tech enterprises, and Wang's Founder group was well established. Today, it boasts 40 subsidiaries and supplies the programs for Chinese publishing ventures around the world. "These 20 years may be the brightest period in Chinese history since the Tang Dynasty," says Wang, 61. He certainly doesn't have much time for Chinese who wax nostalgic for the supposedly egalitarian period under Mao. Ask Wang to recall those days and he sees people lining up for scraps of fatty pork. "Now, no one wants to eat that kind of thing," he says.

Wang acknowledges that opening up has its costs, not least the brain drain of university graduates who head to the U.S. and elsewhere to take advantage of more lucrative salaries. Besides pushing for raises within mainland academia, Wang is trying to keep the best and brightest at home by offering graduates jobs with big money and perks. "I have proposed that we create 100 millionaires in the Founder group by 2010." As Deng said: To be rich is glorious.

THE DISSIDENT

In December, public security officers took prominent dissident Ren Wanding from his home, he says, and subjected him to hours of interrogation. His ordeal was part of the government's crackdown on the fledgling China Democracy Party, of which Ren, 55, was an organizer. Although three other party leaders earned double-digit jail terms, Ren remains free and relatively buoyant in the post-Deng era. The detentions are a warning, he says - "killing the chicken to frighten the monkeys."

This, after all, may be the first time in post-1949 China that anyone has managed to get branches of an opposition party going in several provinces. Ren describes the government's policy as "you can talk, but can't do." While Beijing won't allow the CDP to meet (or permit Ren to speak to Asiaweek in person), he says: "You can say this and that about the government or Party."

The political climate was not so free during much of the Deng era. Ren spent 11 years in prisons for speaking his mind. He went to jail after taking part in the Democracy Wall movement of 1978-79 and again after the Tiananmen protests of 1989. Following his arrest, his wife and daughter were threatened with eviction from their own home and were forced to move to a Beijing suburb, where Ren's daughter was not allowed to attend school because she lacked the required Beijing household registration. As a result, her academic career has been derailed, he says.

Ren has no illusions about the determination of the Communist Party to retain power and stifle dissent. "The party is tough and willing to use guns and let blood flow," he says. Still, he believes there is wiggle room to keep pushing political reform. "Everything," he says, "starts with small groups of people" - promising because Chinese have a greater say today than they have had since 1949.

THE SHOPKEEPER

If Wang Jianying needs a reminder of how things used to be in China, she need only listen to the tales of famine and economic collapse from North Korean embassy staff who frequent one of her Beijing produce shops. Wang, 28, was fortunate to have come of age at the height of the Deng reforms. To be sure, the old socialist guarantees of a job for life were gone, but new opportunities beckoned to savvy risk-takers. So, like many other young Chinese, she decided to xiahai, or jump into the sea of business. P> At 18, Wang began hanging around the local vegetable markets to pick up tips. She learned from bragging stall operators that the fastest way to get rich was gouging expatriate customers from the nearby diplomatic compounds. Somehow, this did not sit well with Wang; she opted instead for honesty and consumer choice. Two weeks later, armed with an old bicycle cart, 200 yuan of her own, plus 200 more borrowed from her parents, Wang opened a vegetable stall in Beijing's Sanlitun district. Ten years later, she has parlayed that investment into a string of grocery stores and acquired an English name - Jenny - from her appreciative foreign customers.

The changes that have flooded China in the past two decades are mirrored in the kinds of vegetables Wang carries, produce not even stocked on mainland shelves in the early '90s. One time, an Italian diplomat brought her fresh basil and asked if she could grow it. Today, you can buy the herb in Beijing. When someone else requested avocados, Wang didn't even know what they were. Now they grace her shelves. The fruits of her labor have provided Wang with her own apartment and a Hyundai car. "Under the iron rice bowl system, it didn't matter if you worked or not," she says. "If the government had scrapped this policy a long time ago, we wouldn't have all the problems we have today." Millions would agree.

THE JOB-SEEKER

It is not quite 6 a.m. as "Little Gao" wakes to freezing cold in an underpass near the Beijing Railway Station. Gao, 30, is one of millions of Chinese flung out of work as China makes its historic shift from socialism to a market economy. Along with scores of other unemployed people, Gao, an ethnic Korean, heads to the station toilet to rinse the grime from his face. A small scab runs along the side of his forehead. "I was unhappy because I couldn't find any work," he says smiling sheepishly. "I got drunk, fell down and cut my head."

He proceeds to an impromptu "labor market," but as usual there is no work. It is risky hanging around because the authorities consider the market illegal. Gao was detained once and, since he could not afford to pay the 200 yuan ($24) fine, his ID card was confiscated, making job-hunting harder still. He says there is also the risk of being cheated by unscrupulous employers. "They hire you and just before pay day, fire you, saying you aren't doing a good job."

Once upon a time, Gao worked as a Japanese and Korean translator. After losing his job with a Korean company last year, he moved to Beijing and found a job on a construction site. He quit after a few weeks because he wasn't accustomed to the hard work and low pay. Despite his bleak existence, Gao remains determined - hoping Japanese and Korean factories will need people after Chinese New Year.

Gao spends most of his time these days on a street corner with his newfound friends, sharing the little food, cigarettes and money they can find. By 9 p.m., Gao has disappeared under a mound of blankets, as temperatures dip to -8 degrees Celsius. A friend motions to the pile of blankets and jokingly knocks back an imaginary bottle of whisky. Gao presumably has killed the pain of his hopelessness.

From Asiaweek

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


Cracking the Whip
Rattled by labor unrest and economic woes, Beijing clamps down on dissidents--just when they were speaking up

By MIA TURNER Beijing

JANUARY 11, 1999 VOL. 153 NO. 1

After a secret two-hour trial, a court in southern Hunan province last week sentenced labor organizer Zhang Shanguang to 10 years in prison. His offense, according to his family, was giving an interview about rural unrest in China to the U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia. A week earlier, three veteran activists, Xu Wenli, Qin Yongmin and Wang Youcai were sentenced to 13, 12 and 11 years in jail, respectively. Their crime: "subversion" by attempting to set up the China Democracy Party (CDP), the country's first political opposition group since 1949. Last week the People's Daily announced the arrests and sentencing of 10 people in Beijing and Tianjin for selling unspecified "illegal political publications." They were given prison terms ranging from three to 13 years.

What's going on here? Only months ago China was being praised by the international community for what appeared to be a blossoming of political tolerance. Western journalists were buzzing about a new "Beijing Spring" reminiscent of the 1989 student movement. Writers and academics were growing outspoken, and politically provocative publications were becoming accessible. In September Beijing welcomed Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on a high-profile visit. A few weeks later, China even signed the U.N. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Spring has clearly turned to winter, and human rights observers are wondering why. Some believe that the perception of greater tolerance was merely an illusion. They note that in the months before U.S. President Bill Clinton's historic trip to China last June the government could afford to be flexible. "It was a very important visit for China," says a Beijing political scientist. "Nothing was to happen that could turn Clinton away." Dissidents capitalized on the moment. In late June activists in eastern Zhejiang province tried to register the CDP and unexpectedly were treated with relative tolerance. In the weeks that followed, branches were set up in 11 cities nationwide.

Some activists were not surprised by the clampdown that followed. They see it as proof that China's communist leadership will never be serious about human rights, no matter how many international covenants it signs. Yet other observers believe the spring thaw was real, and that the subsequent chill betrays a new insecurity at the top. "The arrests symbolize the greater problems facing the government both politically and economically," says a Western diplomat in Beijing. Unemployment, labor unrest and a slowdown in domestic growth have the Chinese government increasingly concerned about maintaining control. Within a period of six days last month, President Jiang Zemin made two hard-line speeches that highlighted the government's priorities. Stability, said Jiang in an address to judicial and public security organs on Dec. 23, is the country's top concern. Jiang insisted: "Any factors that could jeopardize our stability must be annihilated in the early stages."

One manifestation of Jiang's uneasiness is a set of administrative regulations announced in November. The new rules make it virtually impossible to establish any organization, let alone a political party, without state approval. Last week the government went one step further: it published a judicial interpretation of the crimes of "subversion" and "splitting the country." From now on artists, authors, publishers, musicians and filmmakers could face anywhere from three years to life imprisonment if found guilty of "inciting to subvert state power," a more expansive restatement of existing offenses. "They don't want anything to upset the supremacy of the Communist Party," says the Western diplomat.

Of course, China has always insisted on the supremacy of the party. But these days Jiang has more reason to be concerned about the communists' tenure. For one thing, the economy is under severe pressure. Last week the government reported that it came close to hitting its ambitious 8% growth target for 1998, though some foreign economists were skeptical: the Asian financial crisis and China's campaign to close unprofitable state-owned industries are thought to be taking a heavy toll. Unemployment is rising, and protests among workers and farmers are sprouting all over the country. Armed with banners calling for "democracy" and "rule of law," 200 angry villagers in the southern city of Guiyang took to the streets in late October, protesting a government land-redevelopment plan. A month earlier, thousands of disgruntled investors, whose savings had disappeared in questionable investment schemes, staged daily protests in Guangdong province.

In addition, Jiang wants the December 1999 handover of Macau to go smoothly; a recent wave of violence among organized-crime factions in the Portuguese colony does not bode well. There are also a number of important and sensitive milestones to get through, including the 10th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, the 50th of the founding of the People's Republic and the 80th of the May 4 Movement, an early student-led protest. Traditionally, anniversary celebrations in China have been occasions for unrest.

Jiang will be facing his greatest challenges within the party. After lying low for a few years, hard-line critics are once again raising their voices. In a speech made last June but published only in December, veteran Marxist ideologue Deng Liqun broke a three-year silence and detailed the ills that plague the economy. "In recent years, what I have seen and heard makes me feel quite worried," said Deng. The 83-year-old former propaganda chief criticized China's growing income inequality, pointing out that 48 million people in the countryside live below the poverty line and more than 30 million workers have been laid off, while the number of millionaires has grown to more than a million. Deng warned against overemphasizing economic reform. "In some people's hearts, they don't believe anymore that socialism can save China, but they believe capitalism can save China." According to Deng, the Party must unite and correct such ideological flaws. He declared: "In the final analysis, the key [to solving China's problems] lies in our party."

The proliferation of domestic problems has made China less concerned about international reaction to its treatment of dissidents. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao condemned foreign media criticism of the recent political sentences with more than the usual vigor. "There is no conflict between the trials and our efforts to safeguard human rights," said Zhu. He claimed the government was still abiding by the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. While China has yet to ratify the covenant, it continues to win praise abroad for signing it. Even the recent arrests have produced a relatively low-key reaction overseas. The United States said that, although it "deeply deplores" the sentences and called for the immediate release of the dissidents, it believes that China has made progress in human rights, much of it linked to the Clinton visit.

Ultimately, the Chinese government would prefer that dissidents go overseas, where they often lose their effectiveness. Xu refuses to budge. "I told them I would not leave as long as I don't have total freedom here," he told TIME shortly before his arrest. Others, however, have opted to leave. Last month, activists Liu Nianchun and Yao Zhenxian left for the U.S.

The dissident community, within China and without, has never doubted the government's resolve to maintain control. Xu anticipated his arrest and had his bag packed when police arrived. But even after his harsh sentencing, he remains undaunted. In a statement written from jail while in handcuffs last week, Xu condemned his "so-called open trial" as "a means of political persecution," but said he would not appeal the decision. "History will make a correct judgment on me and the China Democracy Party," he concluded. For Xu and others, however, that judgment may be a long way off.

From Time Magazine

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


A Hong Kong protester decries Xu Wenli's 13-year jail term. ROBYN BECK--AFP

Cracking the Whip

Rattled by labor unrest and economic woes, Beijing clamps down on dissidents--just when they were speaking up

By MIA TURNER Beijing

JANUARY 11, 1999 VOL. 153 NO. 1

After a secret two-hour trial, a court in southern Hunan province last week sentenced labor organizer Zhang Shanguang to 10 years in prison. His offense, according to his family, was giving an interview about rural unrest in China to the U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia. A week earlier, three veteran activists, Xu Wenli, Qin Yongmin and Wang Youcai were sentenced to 13, 12 and 11 years in jail, respectively. Their crime: "subversion" by attempting to set up the China Democracy Party (CDP), the country's first political opposition group since 1949. Last week the People's Daily announced the arrests and sentencing of 10 people in Beijing and Tianjin for selling unspecified "illegal political publications." They were given prison terms ranging from three to 13 years.

What's going on here? Only months ago China was being praised by the international community for what appeared to be a blossoming of political tolerance. Western journalists were buzzing about a new "Beijing Spring" reminiscent of the 1989 student movement. Writers and academics were growing outspoken, and politically provocative publications were becoming accessible. In September Beijing welcomed Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on a high-profile visit. A few weeks later, China even signed the U.N. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Spring has clearly turned to winter, and human rights observers are wondering why. Some believe that the perception of greater tolerance was merely an illusion. They note that in the months before U.S. President Bill Clinton's historic trip to China last June the government could afford to be flexible. "It was a very important visit for China," says a Beijing political scientist. "Nothing was to happen that could turn Clinton away." Dissidents capitalized on the moment. In late June activists in eastern Zhejiang province tried to register the CDP and unexpectedly were treated with relative tolerance. In the weeks that followed, branches were set up in 11 cities nationwide.

Some activists were not surprised by the clampdown that followed. They see it as proof that China's communist leadership will never be serious about human rights, no matter how many international covenants it signs. Yet other observers believe the spring thaw was real, and that the subsequent chill betrays a new insecurity at the top. "The arrests symbolize the greater problems facing the government both politically and economically," says a Western diplomat in Beijing. Unemployment, labor unrest and a slowdown in domestic growth have the Chinese government increasingly concerned about maintaining control. Within a period of six days last month, President Jiang Zemin made two hard-line speeches that highlighted the government's priorities. Stability, said Jiang in an address to judicial and public security organs on Dec. 23, is the country's top concern. Jiang insisted: "Any factors that could jeopardize our stability must be annihilated in the early stages."

One manifestation of Jiang's uneasiness is a set of administrative regulations announced in November. The new rules make it virtually impossible to establish any organization, let alone a political party, without state approval. Last week the government went one step further: it published a judicial interpretation of the crimes of "subversion" and "splitting the country." From now on artists, authors, publishers, musicians and filmmakers could face anywhere from three years to life imprisonment if found guilty of "inciting to subvert state power," a more expansive restatement of existing offenses. "They don't want anything to upset the supremacy of the Communist Party," says the Western diplomat.

Of course, China has always insisted on the supremacy of the party. But these days Jiang has more reason to be concerned about the communists' tenure. For one thing, the economy is under severe pressure. Last week the government reported that it came close to hitting its ambitious 8% growth target for 1998, though some foreign economists were skeptical: the Asian financial crisis and China's campaign to close unprofitable state-owned industries are thought to be taking a heavy toll. Unemployment is rising, and protests among workers and farmers are sprouting all over the country. Armed with banners calling for "democracy" and "rule of law," 200 angry villagers in the southern city of Guiyang took to the streets in late October, protesting a government land-redevelopment plan. A month earlier, thousands of disgruntled investors, whose savings had disappeared in questionable investment schemes, staged daily protests in Guangdong province.

In addition, Jiang wants the December 1999 handover of Macau to go smoothly; a recent wave of violence among organized-crime factions in the Portuguese colony does not bode well. There are also a number of important and sensitive milestones to get through, including the 10th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, the 50th of the founding of the People's Republic and the 80th of the May 4 Movement, an early student-led protest. Traditionally, anniversary celebrations in China have been occasions for unrest.

Jiang will be facing his greatest challenges within the party. After lying low for a few years, hard-line critics are once again raising their voices. In a speech made last June but published only in December, veteran Marxist ideologue Deng Liqun broke a three-year silence and detailed the ills that plague the economy. "In recent years, what I have seen and heard makes me feel quite worried," said Deng. The 83-year-old former propaganda chief criticized China's growing income inequality, pointing out that 48 million people in the countryside live below the poverty line and more than 30 million workers have been laid off, while the number of millionaires has grown to more than a million. Deng warned against overemphasizing economic reform. "In some people's hearts, they don't believe anymore that socialism can save China, but they believe capitalism can save China." According to Deng, the Party must unite and correct such ideological flaws. He declared: "In the final analysis, the key [to solving China's problems] lies in our party."

The proliferation of domestic problems has made China less concerned about international reaction to its treatment of dissidents. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao condemned foreign media criticism of the recent political sentences with more than the usual vigor. "There is no conflict between the trials and our efforts to safeguard human rights," said Zhu. He claimed the government was still abiding by the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. While China has yet to ratify the covenant, it continues to win praise abroad for signing it. Even the recent arrests have produced a relatively low-key reaction overseas. The United States said that, although it "deeply deplores" the sentences and called for the immediate release of the dissidents, it believes that China has made progress in human rights, much of it linked to the Clinton visit.

Ultimately, the Chinese government would prefer that dissidents go overseas, where they often lose their effectiveness. Xu refuses to budge. "I told them I would not leave as long as I don't have total freedom here," he told TIME shortly before his arrest. Others, however, have opted to leave. Last month, activists Liu Nianchun and Yao Zhenxian left for the U.S.

The dissident community, within China and without, has never doubted the government's resolve to maintain control. Xu anticipated his arrest and had his bag packed when police arrived. But even after his harsh sentencing, he remains undaunted. In a statement written from jail while in handcuffs last week, Xu condemned his "so-called open trial" as "a means of political persecution," but said he would not appeal the decision. "History will make a correct judgment on me and the China Democracy Party," he concluded. For Xu and others, however, that judgment may be a long way off.

From Time Magazine

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


Tung backs tycoon's political fears

Saturday  January 9  1999

Tung Chee-hwa defended remarks by Li Ka-shing yesterday, saying they represented the worries of the business sector.

Mr Li said last month he had cancelled a $10 billion investment project because of the political environment.

But unionist Lee Cheuk-yan told Mr Tung at a meeting for Frontier legislators and the Chief Executive that the property tycoon was being unreasonable.

"He cannot say the society is not harmonious when people speak up after they are bullied," Mr Lee told Mr Tung.

Mr Lee lamented the fact that Mr Tung had little idea about labour issues after a wave of pay cuts and lay-offs. Mr Tung was quoted as saying he was told by officials the guidelines on pay cuts were very useful.

"Everybody knows no employer follows the guidelines when they sack employees. It shows that Mr Tung not only lacks first-hand information but has been given a second-hand one by officials who formulate the guidelines," Mr Lee said.

Frontier colleague Cyd Ho Sau-lan urged Mr Tung to reject the labour importation plan of the textile industry and to review the quota system.

But Mr Tung did not rule out the labour importation proposal and was quoted as saying the quota system was a legal matter.

The Frontier also complained Mr Tung did not give enough time for them to air their concerns.

In the one-hour meeting, Mr Tung met The Frontier, the Citizens Party, unionist Leung Yiu-chung and Lee Kai-ming.

Tung Chee-hwa warned the drive by the Government to improve air quality would be dampened if the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices remained high.

His remarks came days after the Secretary for Economic Services Stephen Ip Shu-kwan called on oil companies to cut LPG prices.

From South China Morning Post

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


'Open door' for contacts on visit

Saturday  January 9  1999

AGENCIES in Taipei

A senior mainland official who arrived in Kaohsiung yesterday says Taipei officials did not ask her to discuss a trip by Beijing's top envoy on Taiwan affairs, Wang Daohan.

Yang Xiaoming, a deputy secretary-general for the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, said she would meet representatives of Taiwan's Strait Exchange Foundation next Friday but there was no agenda for the meeting.

Taiwan welcomed her visit and Chou Chi-hsiang, chief secretary of the foundation, said the door was open for contacts during her trip.

Foundation Secretary-General Shi Hwei-yow said this week that Taiwan hoped to discuss the visit of association chief Mr Wang with Ms Yang should she have such a mandate.

Ms Yang's 10-day private visit is drawing considerable media attention in Taiwan due to Mr Shi's remarks.

Ms Yang said the main purpose of her trip was to attend a two-day environmental symposium at National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung this weekend.

From South China Morning Post

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


Rocket know-how theft denied

Saturday  January 9  1999

SIMON BECK in New York

A mainland diplomat yesterday denied US claims that China stole sensitive military technology, and accused forces in Washington of trying to make an enemy of Beijing.

"If there should be such conclusions in the report, they are very much absurd, irresponsible and totally unwarranted," said He Yafei, former deputy director-general for arms control and disarmament in the Chinese Foreign Ministry and now a senior diplomat at the embassy in Washington.

"I will state responsibly that China has no intention, nor do we seek, to get US technology through the launching of US-made satellites," Mr He said.

"China's rocket technology has matured over 40 years of development, through our own efforts. There has been no need for us to seek US technology."

But in a sign that Beijing is concerned at the growing swell of anti-China feeling in Congress, it took the rare step of holding a media briefing to reject the claims made in a top-secret House of Representatives report.

Mr He also said the latest claim, carried in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday - that Chinese agents obtained secret data about the W88 warhead during the 1980s - was incorrect.

From South China Morning Post

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


CHINA GETS TOUGH
Expecting hard times ahead, the party steps up its crackdown against dissent

By Todd Crowell and David Hsieh / Beijing

PROGRESS IN CHINA, IT is often said, moves at a pace of two steps forward and one step back. As 1998 drew to a close, authorities handed down lengthy prison sentences to three political activists who had tried to register a political party in opposition to the Chinese Communist Party. Another hefty term was given a labor activist who last March had passed information about peasant unrest to an American radio station. And in two speeches to party chiefs, President Jiang Zemin vowed never to copy Western-style democracy. On the road to political liberalization at least, China seems to have taken three steps backward. The main reason, insiders agree, is that the country is preparing for a tough year ahead.

In a closed trial on Dec. 21, the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court sentenced Xu Wenli, 55, to 13 years in jail. He was convicted of subversion and secretly organizing a branch of the controversial China Democracy Party in the Beijing-Tianjin area. On the same day in Hangzhou, Wang Youcai, 32, was given 11 years for the same offense. The next day, a court in Wuhan sentenced Qin Yongmin to 12 years for subversion in trying to register a branch of the opposition party in Hubei province.

The harsh sentences drew immediate criticism from the United States, Britain, France and Germany. "We not only deplore that [the activists] were detained and tried for such actions but are deeply disturbed by the long sentences imposed and the lack of due process," said U.S. deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott. Xiao Qiang of the Human Rights in China organization in New York called the trials a "travesty of justice." In Hong Kong, Democratic Party stalwart Szeto Wah said Beijing was spreading "white terror."

China tried to deflect some of the expected flak on Dec. 20 by releasing labor activist Liu Nianchun from a prison camp on medical parole. He flew to the U.S. But human-rights groups called the move "cynical." Jailed in 1995 for demanding a reassessment of the official verdict on the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, Liu joined other dissidents such as Wei Jingsheng and Wang Dan in exile.

As it happened, Wei was last week winding up a 10-day visit to Taiwan, his first. He met with President Lee Teng-hui. Taiwan's leader, who had declined to greet other mainland dissidents, apparently chose this time to show solidarity with the democracy movement in China. In Beijing, a Foreign Ministry spokesman warned Taipei against exploiting Wei's visit for political ends.

The mainland sentencings continued. On Dec. 27, a court in Hunan province gave Zhang Shanguang, 45, a 10-year jail term. He had tried in July to set up an association to protect laid-off workers, and last March gave an interview to the U.S.-financed Radio Free Asia in which he discussed rural protests against excessive taxation in parts of Hunan. The two-year-old station, located in Hong Kong, broadcasts news into China. Zhang was convicted of illegally providing information to hostile overseas organizations.

Besides the tough sentences, critics noted the unusual speed and secrecy of the trials. Zhang's lasted less than three hours. As in the other cases, no relatives were in the courtroom. All four dissidents were veteran activists who had been imprisoned before. Earlier in his career, Xu served 12 years for participating in the Democracy Wall Movement of 1979. Wang had repeatedly been in trouble with the authorities since Tiananmen, while Qin had done time for political activism.

In key speeches to senior Communists on Dec. 18 and Dec. 23, Jiang Zemin stressed the need to maintain stability at all costs. "At no time shall we waver from, weaken or eliminate the [current political] system," said the president and party leader. "We cannot copy Western models." Any reforms must be pushed ahead "enthusiastically but in a stable manner." He vowed to "nip in the bud" any subversive activities.

Jiang's first address, before an audience of 6,000 that included party leaders and elders, was ostensibly to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the late Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms. But he seemed to speak more about politics than the economy. Repeatedly, he laid down his bottom line: "Stability is the basic precondition of reform and development . . . Without stability, nothing is possible."

Jiang's speeches signaled that 1999 will be a year of hunkering down in China. Economic conditions will be rough, as more and more workers face layoffs with the closure of moribund state-owned enterprises (even if the pace of such reform has slowed). The year will also bring sensitive anniversaries. One is the 80th year of the May 4th Movement, a student uprising against post-World War I concessions to Japan that marked China's modern political awakening. June will witness the 10th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown, and October the 50th of the founding of the People's Republic.

Such factors provide some explanation for the crackdown, though the severity is surprising. After all, it began not long after Beijing signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in October. During much of last year, authorities did permit more open debate, as well as the publication of outspoken books and magazines. Topics included real politics, not just sanctioned subjects such as official corruption or the environment.

Moreover, there are few signs of political unrest on any scale comparable to earlier eruptions, such as the student-led movement in the spring of 1989. The China Democracy Party is said to have around 200 active supporters across the country, most of whom are under intensive police scrutiny. Yet millions of unemployed workers, not to mention other groups with grievances, such as farmers, could provide fuel for serious opposition, if it were channeled.

Even so, liberal writers and critics are still gathering in the meeting hall of the well-known Sanlian Bookstore in Beijing to discuss the latest books. And Du Gangjian, a prominent professor, recently spoke about human rights at another literary salon in the capital. The provocative newspaper, Southern Weekend, published in Guangzhou, remains as popular as ever. Bookstores continue to stock a wide range of political tracts and exposés. Plays and films with controversial themes are still produced.

Yet there are signs that the crackdown may be widening to media, academic and arts circles. In Hubei last week, 18 people were sentenced to jail for printing pirated political books. A leading intellectual journal in Beijing, Fangfa (Method), received closure orders, and Dongfang (The East) magazine apparently suspended publication while staffers underwent political "rectification." Last week, the Supreme Court tightened laws against "subversive" publications. Jiang's "nipping the bud," it seems, may not be limited to organizers and supporters of the China Democracy Party.

The Hard Line

As 1998 came to a close, President Jiang Zemin made two important speeches, one marking the 20th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms (above), the other at a conference of political and law-enforcement officers.

Highlights:

Reaffirmed the supremacy of the Chinese Communist Party, using terms from the Mao Zedong era such as "the people's democratic dictatorship."

Encouraged continued foreign cooperation, investment and trade, but warned against the importation of "decadent thinking and lifestyles."

Called on party cadres to "talk politics," a phrase usually meaning that they should follow the party line faithfully.

Laid out various priority tasks for the coming year, including cracking down on crime, guaranteeing basic needs of laid-off workers, prohibiting business activities by the party and army, and expanding grassroots elections.

From Asiaweek

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


AGREEING TO DISAGREE
Asia can benefit from learning that mode of diplomacy

ONCE UPON A TIME, Asian nations tended to keep their disagreements under wraps. What Republicans in the United States used to call the 11th Commandment -- "Thou shalt not speak ill of any other Republican" -- had its counterpart in the region. The credo might have been "Asian leaders shalt not speak ill of any fellow Asian country," at least not in public. To be sure, former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore sometimes spoke caustically about the way neighbors ran their affairs. But normally any disagreements were to be worked out behind closed doors, where leaders felt able to speak their minds without losing face. At least a semblance of agreement was highly prized.

Maybe it is the times, maybe it is the strains imposed by the Crisis, maybe it is the emergence of more democratic regimes and values in some Asian countries. Whatever the reason, diplomatic candor seems to be breaking out all over. And few, if any, relationships have experienced permanent damage because of it. Chinese President Jiang Zemin felt free to lecture Japan on its wartime transgressions during his recent visit. Yet, after he returned home, there were few noticeable changes in bilateral ties. Jiang might even have scored a few points with ordinary Japanese by exposing them to a different perspective on an often-taboo topic.

The general openness of the Sino-Japanese summit may have been foreshadowed by the visit to China last July by U.S. President Bill Clinton, in which he and Jiang publicly debated such delicate issues as Tibet and the Tiananmen crackdown of 1989. China's premier, Zhu Rongji, is also known for speaking his mind at international forums. At the same time, Japanese Prime Minister Obuchi Keizo, not generally recognized for his directness, issued an unusually forthright statement of support of the U.S. and Britain during their recent attack on Iraq. Beijing, for its part, took a dissenting view, condemning the assault in equally blunt terms.

In Southeast Asia, ASEAN's recent Hanoi summit was marked by more open discord than anyone can recall. The leaders not only failed to reach their hallmark consensus on the admission of Cambodia into the grouping, but did not even try to mask their sharp differences on the issue. Some observers equate the growing divisiveness within ASEAN with ineffectiveness -- a common complaint since the Crisis began. But the trend can also be a sign of more mature, even stronger, relations, especially as no one took gross offense at what was said. This could be a healthy pointer to the future.

In 1999, "consensus" as a practical means of reaching decisions internationally will come under increasing strain, if it does not break down entirely. That may not be all bad. For one thing, ASEAN is not the cozy club of like-minded countries that it used to be (if, in fact, it ever was). It has become a much larger body of nine, soon ten, nations. They differ extensively not only in political systems and levels of economic development, but also in terms of culture and values. Should it really surprise anyone that there are disagreements within an organization that groups communist Vietnam, royalist Brunei and the democratic Philippines?

Even among the democracies, the Crisis has revealed widely divergent responses to the economic turmoil. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad loudly advocates a nationalist approach and a loose monetary policy in the face of globalism. His Thai counterpart, Chuan Leekpai, has followed the opposite course of hewing faithfully to the International Monetary Fund's austerity measures. Which is the correct path is not immediately apparent -- nor is it the real issue. Perhaps one of the most constructive goals ASEAN can set for itself in the year ahead is to learn to agree to disagree. Nor should that be such an alien concept. After all, haggling and bargaining in the marketplace is an old Asian tradition. Despite occasionally heated exchanges, in the end no one loses face -- and a sale is often made.

It may be that certain issues, such as membership in ASEAN, remain too fundamental to be decided by a straight yes-or-no vote. But it would hardly be the end of the grouping if some other matters were to be settled by a majority verdict. Indeed, members should seek workable, alternative ways to make decisions other than by consensus. And a mechanism that allows countries to opt out of a majority vote -- much like a court judge writing a dissenting opinion -- would help alleviate any feeling that they are being steamrolled into decisions about which they have reservations.

Open discussion and frank criticism need not escalate into "megaphone diplomacy," as practiced by some Western governments or international rights groups. Loud public hectoring of countries, in a bid to prod or shame them into changing their ways, remains profoundly un-Asian. Common colonial histories have forged a strong sense of nationalist pride and wariness about foreign intervention. So there are some limits to frankness among countries which, by sheer necessity, must live with one another. Still, the more open airing of differing views is healthy, as problems of common concern or interest can be identified and solutions discussed. Such an approach will help Asia cope better with the challenges of a more diverse, complex world in the 21st century.

From Asiaweek

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


IN CHARACTER
Chinese-language papers are gaining fresh clout in post-handover Hong Kong

By Law Siu-lan / Hong Kong

LAWYERS, BUSINESSMEN AND CIVIL servants knew the score. As did truck drivers. Perhaps even the few remaining rickshaw men. When China's five-star flag replaced Britain's Union Jack over Hong Kong last year, politics was not the only area where balance of power had shifted. The press, too, has been undergoing its own transition.

Little by little, line by line, the latest word on what moves Hong Kong is increasingly being found in the pages of local Chinese-language titles. They have a natural edge in pulse-of-the-community reporting. To be sure, mass-circulation papers have long been relied on mainly to dish the dirt on stars (and starlets) or the murkier mahjong parlors. Social exposés surface occasionally. More significantly, the serious Chinese press is now breaking stories on policy changes -- once the preserve of the top English-language daily, the South China Morning Post. Leading the charge into this new territory is the Hong Kong Economic Times, a 10-year-old title that has become arguably the city's leading business daily.

Its scoop on official fury over the stock-clearing house's failure in August to enforce a two-day settlement rule was not only a compelling read. It also exposed the inner working of the biggest local business story of the year -- the government's $15 billion gamble to intervene in the stock market and fight speculators. The blow-by-blow account added to the Economic Times' growing reputation for knowing what's on the minds of Hong Kong's movers and shakers.

With bold displays and aggressive reporting, the highly competitive Chinese press is challenging the Post as the premier source of out-front news in the SAR. Since it first rolled off the press in 1903, the English daily had been the eye into the local corridors of power. It offered insider information on government reshuffles, policy initiatives and behind-the-scenes business dealings. But over the past six years or so, such reports have been harder and harder to come by. Post editor Jonathan Fenby concedes the paper has "lost many government scoops."

In part, the Post may suffer from a little complacency. After all, it has seldom had to stretch itself -- its sole English-language rival, the Hong Kong Standard, has consistently trailed far behind in sales and in clout. (There is no such luxury in the tough Chinese-language market, where more than a dozen major dailies and even more specialty papers must scramble to survive.)

Under colonial rule, the Post enjoyed a privileged position with unique access to ranking government officials. Not surprisingly, it was often viewed as the voice of British interests. Other papers reported on such matters as new tax policies too -- as leaked to the Post a week before the Budget was released. The Post was the government's favored organ for testing public opinion. "It was almost impossible to compete," says Marcal Joanilho, news editor of the Hong Kong Standard.

July 1, 1997 officially signaled an end to the colonial system of political and social domination. For the media, though, the lines of communication to government had begun changing years earlier. Chris Patten, Britain's last governor, was keen to diversify the channels for putting out his spin. Select Chinese-language newspapers quickly gained access to important government information. Among the first was the Hong Kong Economic Journal, a staunch supporter of free markets as well as Patten's pro-democracy agenda. The popular Oriental Daily News got its share of exclusive briefings too. In the process the Post lost what Joanilho calls its "unfair advantage" with the government.

Just as significant to the rising clout of the Chinese press has been the emergence of a distinct Hong Kong identity. Imminent return to China spurred community-wide debate over the rights of Hong Kong's six million people. Each publication took a unique view of the transition process that ensured its prominence after the handover. Maverick media boss Jimmy Lai, for example, became something of a hero to the community (and a renegade to Beijing leaders) riding the wave of pro-democracy sentiment. His Apple Daily appeals to grassroots readers through its earthy style of journalism (sensational crime stories and showbiz and society gossip are strong suits). But the brash paper is also a regular sounding board for his populist political beliefs. Similarly, the Economic Times attracts the better-educated with its brand of measured liberalism, strong identification with Hong Kong -- and investment tips.

A colorful new daily to be unleashed in the market will undoubtedly take the war between tabloid-style rivals Apple and Oriental to new highs (or lows). Of the "serious" papers, Ming Pao Daily News, the Economic Times and the Economic Journal lead the fight for business and professional readers. Ming Pao is widely regarded as having drifted in editorial direction and circulation (now at about 120,000) since founder Louis Cha gave up control of the title in 1993. Even so, it scores with scoops such as leader Martin Lee's recent admission of a looming split within the Democrats, the largest political party in Hong Kong.

The two financial papers have similar circulations, with the Economic Times slightly ahead at 65,000 copies. Its eye-catching format and lively use of graphics has helped the daily gain ground among middle-class readers as well as brokerage houses. "Getting hold of the most updated and useful information is the first step towards making the right decision," says Christina Tong, an insurance underwriter. "The Economic Times has been delivering exactly that." A company source admits the paper has some way to go, especially on the social and political fronts. Still, it is making inroads. It tipped, for instance, the recent appointment of a prominent pro-Beijing editor, Tsang Tak-sing, to the government's influential Central Policy Unit.

As for the Post, it is is "no longer a must-read," says Ying Chan, a media studies consultant at Hong Kong University. Despite its far greater resources, critics say, it does not clearly better the Standard in its China coverage, especially on the mainland's new relationship with Hong Kong. Even its editorials don't seem as insightful as before, says Chen Yu-hsi, professor of communications at Baptist University. While conceding the Post has had an uphill struggle since the handover, editor Fenby insists readers remain loyal because of its high reporting standards. The Post was ranked the most credible Hong Kong newspaper in a recent Chinese University survey of readers, edging out Ming Pao, the Economic Journal and the Economic Times.

"I don't think our quality is slipping," says Fenby. Quite the opposite: "We have broadened our reporting, improved our coverage." Besides, losing its cosy relationship with the government is no bad thing, Fenby argues. No longer fed exclusives, the paper has had to hunt for its own scoops, and in the process develop greater objectivity. "What's important is for us to have independent reporting," says the editor.

Talk of the Post's decline is certainly exaggerated. In fact, circulation has risen 1% over the past year and currently stands at about 106,000. That's a very respectable number when you consider that English-speaking expatriates account for only 5% of the population (more than 70% of the Post's readership is Chinese).

Still, their reach in the community make the Chinese-language dailies more effective conduits for publicizing official initiatives, for announcing new business developments -- and for leaking hot stories. The Oriental, which claims to sell 650,000 copies, is arguably the biggest selling newspaper. Apple ranks second with an audited circulation of 407,000 copies. "The SAR government will pick whichever is the most widely read by the community," says Chen of Baptist University. It is "an easy choice," he says. For readers, the keen competition ensures plenty of choice too.

The New Establishment

An upstart stakes out the middle ground

Joseph Yam, the head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, is a man who doesn't lose his cool in public. Aug. 30, 1998, was an exception. Two days after the government's landmark intervention on the bourse, he was clearly fuming when he stalked into the Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company. At issue was the clearing house's failure to enforce a rule requiring trades to be settled within two days. By delaying the deadline for an extra two days, the clearing house allowed illegal short sellers to avert vast losses. For Yam, it was a huge disappointment. He had hoped to deal speculators a knock-out blow, but the result was more like a mild punch.

The Hong Kong Economic Times' exclusive on Yam's outburst at the clearing house became the talk of the town. It was the first time an official admitted the government's intervention was not the unmitigated triumph it was made out to be. Subsequent interviews with Financial Secretary Donald Tsang revealed his agonizing over the controversial move. The ground-breaking stories helped put human faces on what had been until then an institutional business story. That's just the kind of reportage that helped the Economic Times become the paper of choice among Hong Kong's cell-phone-toting professional class. Advertising soared in tandem, boosting the paper to third place behind the mass-market Oriental Daily News and Apple Daily. Offering glimpses into the personal dramas behind the headlines, the upstart has eclipsed its more-established and, some say, stodgy rival, the Hong Kong Economic Journal. Circulation has now climbed to 65,000, making the Economic Times the leading local business daily in a city whose lifeblood is commerce.

It is a dream come true for the paper's two founders, Fung Siu-por and Mak Wah-cheung. Both former student activists, they began with a simple idea -- channel that idealism and thirst for solid information into a consumer-friendly financial newspaper. They would address all the big issues, but simply and clearly, without the usual off-putting jargon. The result has been a publication which is earning respect for its reader-friendly, yet weighty content. The editor of Capital magazine, To Fai, lauds that "market-oriented" approach.

No dry-as-dust academic analyses for the Economic Times. Instead, To notes, it has focused on providing "useful information its readers need." Put another way: show them where money can be made. Regular inserts include a property supplement, and matter-of-fact financial advice -- the sort that is discussed in mid-morning meetings around the office water cooler. Chief among the innovations: a section updating the transaction prices of major property projects around the world. A magnet for wannabe property barons, the insert tapped straight into a lucrative segment of the advertising market. "Our property ads are already number one," says publisher Mak. Reader Christina Tong, for one, finds the information handy for mapping out her investment strategy.

Fung and Mak are not without their critics. Some wonder if the publication would have nailed an exclusive with Tsang without its open endorsement of his intervention. The paper drew even more flak over possible conflict of interest as more details emerged about Tsang's buying spree. Roctec Investment, a major partner in the publishing venture, had been one of the few brokerage houses trading on behalf of the government. Editor-in-chief Eric Chan insists the paper maintains independence.

Emulating multi-media companies such as Bloomberg, the Economic Times has been branching out into technology-related services. Internet-based bilingual financial information is one. Keeping focused on the specialized information market is key to the paper's growth, says Salome See, general manager for the Internet operations. Stockbrokers already make up more than 50% of the subscriber base. "We know our strengths," explains See. "We are not competing with the big international information providers, but we are number one in our niche." And that's no small achievement.

Burning Sensation

New paper to fire up an old feud

In the cut-throat world of Hong Kong's popular press, two publications stand out: the Oriental Daily News and the Apple Daily. The market leaders are known for their brash flamboyance (of reportage as well as owners), and for their bitter rivalry. Now kept at a low simmer (with the odd vitriolic spat), the feud is about to break into an all-out war. The opening shot is expected within months -- when Oriental boss Ma Ching-kwan launches a new mass daily. He has called it The Sun, after his own nickname. Ma apparently hopes his baby, positioned as a hip version of the Oriental, will bite into Apple's younger readership. Even so, many analysts are hard put to see a niche for it in an overcrowded market.

Journalists preparing for The Sun's launch aren't entirely sure where they fit in either. Says one of the editors: "If there is an understanding in our team, that is: Don't ask, just do it." Publisher-designate Tang Kwong-kit has responded to staff concerns by outlining a rough brief. "It will be a paper for young people, with a focus on livelihood issues and news that readers care about," he says. In short: just like Apple. Still, isn't Ma creating competition for his own flagship paper? Some observers explain this as the newspaper boss's attempt to make his mark in a family business. Others view the project in terms of Ma's alleged personal animosity toward Apple Daily owner Jimmy Lai.

The rivalry between the two men can be traced back to 1990, when Lai issued the hit Next Magazine. Ma struck back the following year with a rival weekly, East Week. Poaching from each other's staff further fueled hostilities. By the time Lai launched Apple in 1995 (sparking off an industry price war which ended with five newspaper closures), they were bitter enemies.

Although staffed with many defectors from Apple, The Sun has had to push back its launch by more than a year. Some speculate that the real purpose behind the project is to decimate Apple's crime desk -- the rival's strongest section. Tang himself was its senior crime editor before being recruited by Ma. But a Sun editor dismisses the notion: "After years of trying, Ma decided it was almost impossible to revamp the Oriental Daily to appeal to the TV generation." Will The Sun finally shine for Ma?

From Asiaweek

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


TWO EMPERORS OF CHINA
New biographies analyze Mao's successors

IN THE BEGINNING THERE was Mao. Then, Deng. Now it is Jiang Thought. When Jiang Zemin became general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 1989, many saw him as a transitory successor to the disgraced Zhao Ziyang. But Jiang defied expectations to emerge as unrivaled party leader, whose grip extended to command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Time, then, for a new assessment. Journalist Bruce Gilley thus sets out to reappraise Jiang and to examine the nature of post-Deng Xiaoping politics in China. He does well on both counts. Tiger on the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China's New Elite (University of California Press, Berkeley, 410 pages, $29.95) is probably the best biography of the Chinese president available in English.

So what is Jiang's governing philosophy? To the author, he is a pragmatist -- a middle-of-the-roader rather than committed Marxist. A beneficiary of Deng's economic reforms since 1978, Jiang has been keen to keep up momentum on that front. But, as the heavy jail terms recently meted out to political activists show, that does not mean he tolerates multi-party democracy. Political changes would be aimed at strengthening one-party rule.

According to Gilley, the leader has focused on areas that Deng had neglected or left unresolved: patriotism, anti-corruption, rebuilding the party, social rejuvenation and redefining the state's role in the economy. Formally presented at the 15th Party Congress in 1997, these themes are part of Jiang's vision to aid China's transition from a Marxist state into a "developmental dictatorship." Besides, they help consolidate his authority.

Perceptions that Jiang was "plucked out of nowhere" for the top job are highly inaccurate. In the mid-1980s, he was already in line for a senior post at the party center. Besides being an economic reformer, Jiang had the tough instincts in dealing with dissent that Deng was seeking. Take his clampdown on the World Economic Herald, a platform for China's liberal intellectuals (over a call to re-evaluate the official verdict on Zhao's late predecessor, Hu Yaobang). Jiang was apparently reluctant to suppress the journal. But having decided to suspend the Herald and sack its chief editor, he stood his ground in the ensuing furor, which included a drubbing from Zhao.

Jiang's lack of strong factional allies were at once his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. He instinctively adopted policies that would ensure backing from the leadership. Typically his support in the PLA derived from the fact that his policies largely coincided with the interests of those who might oppose his authority. In the wake of Tiananmen, his most important tasks were to re-establish political stability and maintain the momentum of economic reform. To the writer, Jiang was "the right man at the right time to shoulder these tasks."

But the president did not have it all his own way. Both the PLA and party leaders sought to impose curbs on his rule. The sacking of Ba Zhongtan, a retired general whom he appointed to head the paramilitary People's Armed Police, and Jiang's failure to secure the party chairmanship at the 15th Congress amply illustrate the real limits on his authority.

Tiger offers little that is new to experts. But Gilley's meticulously collected data and skillful presentation make the biography an asset to Sinologists. Entertaining descriptions of personal quirks add to its readability. An example: Jiang's predilection for combing his hair in public. The author traces this habit to the superior skills of barbers in Jiang's native Yangzhou, his university days in Shanghai and his humiliation at having to adopt a crew cut to survive the Cultural Revolution. It seems his spin doctors and even his wife dared not advise him against such behavior -- until snaps of his grooming during a 1996 visit to Spain were splashed across the world.

In many small ways, Gilley reveals his excellent understanding of Chinese politics. Rejecting conventional interpretations, for example, he downplays the idea of a Machiavellian Shanghai faction maneuvering to gain political ascendancy in the capital. Rather, he argues, Shanghai acted "more like an incubator for high-flying cadres" whom Party elders had marked for future promotion.

Two elements of Jiang's "spiritual culture" were directly linked to Mao Zedong's control of the arts and media. Like Mao, he preferred works of literature and art which would shore up the Party's grip on power. Similarly, the media are valued for maintaining the party line, rather than for liveliness or interesting coverage. In a sense, Jiang had greatness thrust upon him in 1989. But it is no accident that he survived and, by mid-1997, emerged as "the most powerful man in Asia."

-- By Joseph Cheng

The writer is professor of political science at the City University of Hong Kong and heads its Contemporary China Research Center

Deng Xiaoping does not suffer for want of biographers. With more than a dozen books already published on China's great reformer, what purpose would another serve? Benjamin Yang explains his contribution, Deng: A Political Biography (M.E. Sharpe, New York, 360 pages, $21.95), as an attempt to address errors and flaws which "remain fairly common in almost all earlier works."

A professor at the Chinese People's University in Beijing, Yang might be expected to have a perspective different from that of foreign Sinologists. He makes much of "inductive facts and deductive interpretations" to gain insight into Chinese political ways. In explaining how Deng maintained supremacy, Yang claims that "intuitive analysis" of the patriarch's thinking may be more fruitful than quotes and facts. Such commentary on modern China is already widely available -- in popular Chinese-language magazines outside the mainland. By comparison, David Goodman's Deng Xiaoping and the Chinese Revolution (Routledge, 1994) is solidly grounded in historical sources. Yang's book covers the main highlights in Deng's long career, but the sections up to the Cultural Revolution add little insight. Indeed, Deng's contribution to the anti-Japanese resistance and to victory over the Kuomintang has been better documented elsewhere.

Yang depicts the patriarch as a dedicated reformer who readily jettisons his lieutenants when the going gets tough. Thus then-premier Zhao Ziyang was blamed when price reforms led to soaring inflation. To the author, these developments caused a rift between the two men and "have a great deal to do with the outbreak, the course and the conclusion of the subsequent Tiananmen incident." Deng had called for new leadership and for corruption to be stamped out. But, ultimately, Yang holds him responsible for the suppression of the 1989 democracy movement.

Even in retirement, the patriarch made his mark. Through his southern tour of 1992, "Hurricane Deng" gave fresh impetus to stalling economic reforms. He also put a stop to a propaganda campaign waged by conservatives (labels like Mr. Capitalism were brandished about). Deng even stage-managed a final leadership shuffle: Bypassing Li Peng and Qiao Shi, he replaced the disgraced Zhao with Jiang Zemin. Like many observers, Yang subscribes to the view that economic growth, along with an evolving Communist Party, will probably lead to a democratic China. Setting a broad time frame of "sometime in the next millennium," the author can hardly fail to hit the mark.

-- By Lee Ngok

The writer is honorary professor in the Department of Chinese, University of Hong Kong

From Asiaweek

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


SPARKS IN HONG KONG

WHEN THE GOING GETS tough, the tough start squabbling. First, Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing announced he's stepping down as chief executive of his Cheung Kong Holdings. Then he slammed politicians for criticizing rich businessmen -- "using unreasonable means to please voters" is how he put it. That prompted Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa to weigh in. "A harmonious community is fundamental to the creation of a good business environment," he intoned. Li says he's so discouraged by Hong Kong's political atmosphere that he has canceled an unspecified $1.3 billion investment somewhere in the territory. A populist onslaught is building up against Li, brought on largely by his firm's threat to sue hapless buyers of Cheung Kong apartments who cannot meet their payments and stand to lose their life savings if the value of Hong Kong property continues to drop. But that's not all. Democratic Party leader Martin Lee Chu-ming, one of the loudest critics of the policies of Tung as well as Li's legal plan, took a swipe at both men. He termed Tung's response to Li's criticism "so wishy-washy that it could easily have been understood to mean he actually agreed with Li." Lee has his own compulsions for speaking stridently: Young turks in the Democratic Party say they are frustrated with its leadership.

From Asiaweek

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


FREE FOR ALL
Tough talk from tycoon Li Ka-shing sparks a furious debate over the future

By Alejandro Reyes / Hong Kong

WHEREVER HE GOES in public, Li Ka-shing is an honored guest. Take the Jan. 4 reception marking the 80th anniversary of Hong Kong's Bank of East Asia. On the dais: Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa and the bank's directors. And just below the stage, front and center, is Li. He toasts the occasion with a glass of red wine. As soon as the official ceremony ends, it is Li whom the bank's chairman, David Li Kwok-po, first approaches. The two click glasses and exchange New Year greetings. A woman admirer who has been desperately trying to have her photo taken with the property magnate is left looking on anxiously. She has missed her chance for a memento.

After years at the top in a town where money is everything, 70-year-old Li Ka-shing still has star power. He is not Hong Kong's richest tycoon but easily its most influential, not least because he has Beijing's ear. So when the man known in Hong Kong as "Superman" speaks, people listen. Last month Li stirred a pre-Christmas controversy when he said that he might withdraw from an unnamed $1.3-billion project because of his concerns about the local "political environment." Said Li: "I have chosen to speak out before the situation worsens." He went on to knock political parties for using "unreasonable means to please voters." His remarks were widely interpreted as a dig at the Democratic Party, which had been hotly critical of Li recently over moves by his flagship company Cheung Kong to sue investors who had defaulted on payments for flats purchased prior to the collapse of the property market.

The Li outburst set off another round of soul-searching in recession-hit Hong Kong, with senior business figures closing ranks behind their icon and pro-democracy politicians on the defensive. Lam Kin-ming of property group Lai Sun decried political parties for always accusing businessmen of self-interest. For his part, Democratic Party chief Martin Lee Chu-ming said Li was "bad-mouthing" Hong Kong. "Businessmen have got used to enjoying power and privilege," he said. His party said in a statement that the way forward is not less politics, but more: "As can be seen from the Asian financial turmoil, the less democracy there is in a country, the more unstable the society will become and more investors would leave." Chief Executive Tung tried to sound neutral. "A good environment which is conducive to business and investment is very important because that's the way to ensure recovery of our economy," he said with typical blandness.

Business anxiety over Hong Kong's politicization is not new. Since colonial days, the commercial elite have jealously guarded the special relationship they have with government. Senior business figures sit on the policy-making Executive Council. But with the advent of electoral politics - however limited - businessmen have felt threatened by what they regard as creeping socialism invading the free-market temple.

The difference today is that after the handover, with the issue of mainland intervention in Hong Kong affairs on the backburner and the failing economy at the top of concerns, all sides are under pressure. Businesspeople are trying to keep their companies profitable, politicians are trying to meet their constituents' growing demands, and the government is trying to satisfy all. Tung's administration must show it is acting resolutely to combat the slump, as well as looking after the needs of the poor and unemployed. It is being pushed to improve accountability. And it must work to retain the favor of its traditional constituency - big business.

Unnerved by the tougher economic conditions, the business sector, including old-guard property developers like Li Ka-shing, sense their influence may be waning. In the wake of the Crisis, Hong Kong will have to remodel itself to stay competitive. One priority is to wean itself off its dependence on the property sector. The precipitous drop in asset prices over the past year, including a 50%-plus plunge in real-estate values, may just be the first step. The New Year has rung in the liberalization of the telecommunications sector. In a matter of days, international direct-dial prices have plummeted. The writing is on the wall: Entrenched oligopolies - perhaps even the handful of the property players - are on the way out, or at least subject to greater criticism.

EVEN BEFORE CHEUNG KONG'S moves against defaulting buyers, the Democrats had been on Li's case. They bitterly opposed what they saw as his key role in installing Tung as CE. They grumbled when Li bought by private tender a piece of government land early last year at a "giveaway" price. They were riled by the case of Cheung Tze-keung, the gangster known as "Big Spender," and his execution in China late last year for arms smuggling. Cheung had also allegedly kidnapped Victor Li Tzar-kuoi and another tycoon in Hong Kong, but was tried across the border. Many reckoned that Li's influence with the Beijing leadership had led to the swift resolution of the case in the mainland. The Democrats strenuously objected to Li approaching President Jiang Zemin to intervene in his son's case. They viewed that as inviting China to meddle in Hong Kong affairs, setting a worrisome precedent. As the Democrats saw it, Li had put his interests ahead of Hong Kong's. Stung by these criticisms, Li apparently felt compelled to go public.

Quarrels among the Democrats themselves have become public too. Deprived of mainland meddling as an easy complaint, Hong Kong's largest party (it holds 19 out of 60 seats in the legislature) is under pressure to step up its work on pocketbook issues. There is now open talk that the party may split, with "young turk" members setting up a Democratic Labor splinter group that would focus on grassroots concerns. Lee, a bookish barrister more comfortable in a law library than on the hustings in a housing estate, reckons the party should continue to cater to the middle classes.

Amid all this flux stands Tung, literally the man in the middle. The former shipping tycoon has managed to turn off Democrats for failing to address their worries about democracy and safeguards for the needy, and to raise disquiet among businessmen who fear that one of their own could let them down. This battle for influence is cast by many in the business sector as a struggle between socialism and capitalism. After Li made his comments, Eden Woon, director of the General Chamber of Commerce, said companies were leaning toward trimming their investments in Hong Kong because of calls for the implementation of "socialist measures" like the setting of a minimum wage, the introduction of unemployment benefits, budget deficits and higher taxes.

Which is why many reckoned that Li's warning shot was aimed not just at the Democrats, but at Tung too. The beleaguered Beijing-appointed CE has had a rough 18 months since the end of British rule in July 1997. The economic turmoil has plunged Hong Kong into its worst downturn since World War II. And other crises, including last year's bird-flu alarm and the new airport fiasco, have called into question government competence. The August intervention by monetary authorities to defend the markets caused consternation abroad even as it proved popular - and successful - at home. Amid the storms, there has been talk of a "Dump Tung" movement brewing, even among businesspeople and traditionally pro-government politicians.

Tung's future (he may seek re-selection in 2002) depends much more on China's leaders, of course, than on anyone in Hong Kong, even "Superman" Li. Beijing is concerned about the divisions over the territory's future directions. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper reports that, in the wake of Li's "politicization" remarks, a Politburo member journeyed to China's Shenzhen special economic zone bordering Hong Kong. He met key Hong Kong personalities to assess how the territory - vital to China's overall modernization effort - can remain prosperous and stable. There are no easy answers, but what's clear is that everyone wants to have their say.

From Asiaweek

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


Chinese-language papers are gaining fresh clout in post-handover Hong Kong

January 4, 1999

By Law Siu-lan / Hong Kong

LAWYERS, BUSINESSMEN AND CIVIL servants knew the score. As did truck drivers. Perhaps even the few remaining rickshaw men. When China's five-star flag replaced Britain's Union Jack over Hong Kong last year, politics was not the only area where balance of power had shifted. The press, too, has been undergoing its own transition.

Little by little, line by line, the latest word on what moves Hong Kong is increasingly being found in the pages of local Chinese-language titles. They have a natural edge in pulse-of-the-community reporting. To be sure, mass-circulation papers have long been relied on mainly to dish the dirt on stars (and starlets) or the murkier mahjong parlors. Social exposés surface occasionally. More significantly, the serious Chinese press is now breaking stories on policy changes -- once the preserve of the top English-language daily, the South China Morning Post. Leading the charge into this new territory is the Hong Kong Economic Times, a 10-year-old title that has become arguably the city's leading business daily.

Its scoop on official fury over the stock-clearing house's failure in August to enforce a two-day settlement rule was not only a compelling read. It also exposed the inner working of the biggest local business story of the year -- the government's $15 billion gamble to intervene in the stock market and fight speculators. The blow-by-blow account added to the Economic Times' growing reputation for knowing what's on the minds of Hong Kong's movers and shakers.

With bold displays and aggressive reporting, the highly competitive Chinese press is challenging the Post as the premier source of out-front news in the SAR. Since it first rolled off the press in 1903, the English daily had been the eye into the local corridors of power. It offered insider information on government reshuffles, policy initiatives and behind-the-scenes business dealings. But over the past six years or so, such reports have been harder and harder to come by. Post editor Jonathan Fenby concedes the paper has "lost many government scoops."

In part, the Post may suffer from a little complacency. After all, it has seldom had to stretch itself -- its sole English-language rival, the Hong Kong Standard, has consistently trailed far behind in sales and in clout. (There is no such luxury in the tough Chinese-language market, where more than a dozen major dailies and even more specialty papers must scramble to survive.)

Under colonial rule, the Post enjoyed a privileged position with unique access to ranking government officials. Not surprisingly, it was often viewed as the voice of British interests. Other papers reported on such matters as new tax policies too -- as leaked to the Post a week before the Budget was released. The Post was the government's favored organ for testing public opinion. "It was almost impossible to compete," says Marcal Joanilho, news editor of the Hong Kong Standard.

July 1, 1997 officially signaled an end to the colonial system of political and social domination. For the media, though, the lines of communication to government had begun changing years earlier. Chris Patten, Britain's last governor, was keen to diversify the channels for putting out his spin. Select Chinese-language newspapers quickly gained access to important government information. Among the first was the Hong Kong Economic Journal, a staunch supporter of free markets as well as Patten's pro-democracy agenda. The popular Oriental Daily News got its share of exclusive briefings too. In the process the Post lost what Joanilho calls its "unfair advantage" with the government.

Just as significant to the rising clout of the Chinese press has been the emergence of a distinct Hong Kong identity. Imminent return to China spurred community-wide debate over the rights of Hong Kong's six million people. Each publication took a unique view of the transition process that ensured its prominence after the handover. Maverick media boss Jimmy Lai, for example, became something of a hero to the community (and a renegade to Beijing leaders) riding the wave of pro-democracy sentiment. His Apple Daily appeals to grassroots readers through its earthy style of journalism (sensational crime stories and showbiz and society gossip are strong suits). But the brash paper is also a regular sounding board for his populist political beliefs. Similarly, the Economic Times attracts the better-educated with its brand of measured liberalism, strong identification with Hong Kong -- and investment tips.

A colorful new daily to be unleashed in the market will undoubtedly take the war between tabloid-style rivals Apple and Oriental to new highs (or lows). Of the "serious" papers, Ming Pao Daily News, the Economic Times and the Economic Journal lead the fight for business and professional readers. Ming Pao is widely regarded as having drifted in editorial direction and circulation (now at about 120,000) since founder Louis Cha gave up control of the title in 1993. Even so, it scores with scoops such as leader Martin Lee's recent admission of a looming split within the Democrats, the largest political party in Hong Kong.

The two financial papers have similar circulations, with the Economic Times slightly ahead at 65,000 copies. Its eye-catching format and lively use of graphics has helped the daily gain ground among middle-class readers as well as brokerage houses. "Getting hold of the most updated and useful information is the first step towards making the right decision," says Christina Tong, an insurance underwriter. "The Economic Times has been delivering exactly that." A company source admits the paper has some way to go, especially on the social and political fronts. Still, it is making inroads. It tipped, for instance, the recent appointment of a prominent pro-Beijing editor, Tsang Tak-sing, to the government's influential Central Policy Unit.

As for the Post, it is is "no longer a must-read," says Ying Chan, a media studies consultant at Hong Kong University. Despite its far greater resources, critics say, it does not clearly better the Standard in its China coverage, especially on the mainland's new relationship with Hong Kong. Even its editorials don't seem as insightful as before, says Chen Yu-hsi, professor of communications at Baptist University. While conceding the Post has had an uphill struggle since the handover, editor Fenby insists readers remain loyal because of its high reporting standards. The Post was ranked the most credible Hong Kong newspaper in a recent Chinese University survey of readers, edging out Ming Pao, the Economic Journal and the Economic Times.

"I don't think our quality is slipping," says Fenby. Quite the opposite: "We have broadened our reporting, improved our coverage." Besides, losing its cosy relationship with the government is no bad thing, Fenby argues. No longer fed exclusives, the paper has had to hunt for its own scoops, and in the process develop greater objectivity. "What's important is for us to have independent reporting," says the editor.

Talk of the Post's decline is certainly exaggerated. In fact, circulation has risen 1% over the past year and currently stands at about 106,000. That's a very respectable number when you consider that English-speaking expatriates account for only 5% of the population (more than 70% of the Post's readership is Chinese).

Still, their reach in the community make the Chinese-language dailies more effective conduits for publicizing official initiatives, for announcing new business developments -- and for leaking hot stories. The Oriental, which claims to sell 650,000 copies, is arguably the biggest selling newspaper. Apple ranks second with an audited circulation of 407,000 copies. "The SAR government will pick whichever is the most widely read by the community," says Chen of Baptist University. It is "an easy choice," he says. For readers, the keen competition ensures plenty of choice too.

The New Establishment

An upstart stakes out the middle ground

Joseph Yam, the head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, is a man who doesn't lose his cool in public. Aug. 30, 1998, was an exception. Two days after the government's landmark intervention on the bourse, he was clearly fuming when he stalked into the Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company. At issue was the clearing house's failure to enforce a rule requiring trades to be settled within two days. By delaying the deadline for an extra two days, the clearing house allowed illegal short sellers to avert vast losses. For Yam, it was a huge disappointment. He had hoped to deal speculators a knock-out blow, but the result was more like a mild punch.

The Hong Kong Economic Times' exclusive on Yam's outburst at the clearing house became the talk of the town. It was the first time an official admitted the government's intervention was not the unmitigated triumph it was made out to be. Subsequent interviews with Financial Secretary Donald Tsang revealed his agonizing over the controversial move. The ground-breaking stories helped put human faces on what had been until then an institutional business story. That's just the kind of reportage that helped the Economic Times become the paper of choice among Hong Kong's cell-phone-toting professional class. Advertising soared in tandem, boosting the paper to third place behind the mass-market Oriental Daily News and Apple Daily. Offering glimpses into the personal dramas behind the headlines, the upstart has eclipsed its more-established and, some say, stodgy rival, the Hong Kong Economic Journal. Circulation has now climbed to 65,000, making the Economic Times the leading local business daily in a city whose lifeblood is commerce.

It is a dream come true for the paper's two founders, Fung Siu-por and Mak Wah-cheung. Both former student activists, they began with a simple idea -- channel that idealism and thirst for solid information into a consumer-friendly financial newspaper. They would address all the big issues, but simply and clearly, without the usual off-putting jargon. The result has been a publication which is earning respect for its reader-friendly, yet weighty content. The editor of Capital magazine, To Fai, lauds that "market-oriented" approach.

No dry-as-dust academic analyses for the Economic Times. Instead, To notes, it has focused on providing "useful information its readers need." Put another way: show them where money can be made. Regular inserts include a property supplement, and matter-of-fact financial advice -- the sort that is discussed in mid-morning meetings around the office water cooler. Chief among the innovations: a section updating the transaction prices of major property projects around the world. A magnet for wannabe property barons, the insert tapped straight into a lucrative segment of the advertising market. "Our property ads are already number one," says publisher Mak. Reader Christina Tong, for one, finds the information handy for mapping out her investment strategy.

Fung and Mak are not without their critics. Some wonder if the publication would have nailed an exclusive with Tsang without its open endorsement of his intervention. The paper drew even more flak over possible conflict of interest as more details emerged about Tsang's buying spree. Roctec Investment, a major partner in the publishing venture, had been one of the few brokerage houses trading on behalf of the government. Editor-in-chief Eric Chan insists the paper maintains independence.

Emulating multi-media companies such as Bloomberg, the Economic Times has been branching out into technology-related services. Internet-based bilingual financial information is one. Keeping focused on the specialized information market is key to the paper's growth, says Salome See, general manager for the Internet operations. Stockbrokers already make up more than 50% of the subscriber base. "We know our strengths," explains See. "We are not competing with the big international information providers, but we are number one in our niche." And that's no small achievement.

Burning Sensation

New paper to fire up an old feud

In the cut-throat world of Hong Kong's popular press, two publications stand out: the Oriental Daily News and the Apple Daily. The market leaders are known for their brash flamboyance (of reportage as well as owners), and for their bitter rivalry. Now kept at a low simmer (with the odd vitriolic spat), the feud is about to break into an all-out war. The opening shot is expected within months -- when Oriental boss Ma Ching-kwan launches a new mass daily. He has called it The Sun, after his own nickname. Ma apparently hopes his baby, positioned as a hip version of the Oriental, will bite into Apple's younger readership. Even so, many analysts are hard put to see a niche for it in an overcrowded market.

Journalists preparing for The Sun's launch aren't entirely sure where they fit in either. Says one of the editors: "If there is an understanding in our team, that is: Don't ask, just do it." Publisher-designate Tang Kwong-kit has responded to staff concerns by outlining a rough brief. "It will be a paper for young people, with a focus on livelihood issues and news that readers care about," he says. In short: just like Apple. Still, isn't Ma creating competition for his own flagship paper? Some observers explain this as the newspaper boss's attempt to make his mark in a family business. Others view the project in terms of Ma's alleged personal animosity toward Apple Daily owner Jimmy Lai.

The rivalry between the two men can be traced back to 1990, when Lai issued the hit Next Magazine. Ma struck back the following year with a rival weekly, East Week. Poaching from each other's staff further fueled hostilities. By the time Lai launched Apple in 1995 (sparking off an industry price war which ended with five newspaper closures), they were bitter enemies.

Although staffed with many defectors from Apple, The Sun has had to push back its launch by more than a year. Some speculate that the real purpose behind the project is to decimate Apple's crime desk -- the rival's strongest section. Tang himself was its senior crime editor before being recruited by Ma. But a Sun editor dismisses the notion: "After years of trying, Ma decided it was almost impossible to revamp the Oriental Daily to appeal to the TV generation." Will The Sun finally shine for Ma?

From Asiaweek

Back to Top
Back to Article Index


No deviation from path of reform, says Jiang

VIVIEN PIK-KWAN CHAN

Friday  January 1  1999

Major economic reforms will continue despite the destabilising effects of Asia's financial crisis, President Jiang Zemin said last night.

"China has taken the correct measures and we will continue to deepen reform and expand our opening up to the outside world," Xinhua quoted Mr Jiang as saying in his New Year address.

Mr Jiang called for stability and unity to confront difficulties in crucial reforms.

He said: "The state, finance and bureaucracy reform has been smooth and will continue. We will solve problems and difficulties in order to promote the stable development of the economy and a stable social situation."

Communist Party, State Council and judiciary departments met a deadline yesterday to wind up their business connections.

"From January 1, departments will no longer be involved in the management of enterprises that they formerly ran," said the news agency.

Several enterprises will transfer to national or local management groups. Loss-making firms will be suspended or closed down. The decision to scrap business links was made to eliminate the protectionism practised by certain departments and break industrial monopolies, said Xinhua.

The moves were also aimed at enabling departments to perform fairly, promote the restructuring and development of state-owned entities and turn them into the mainstream of market competition.

Party leaders decided last June to prohibit the armed forces, armed police and government and judicial departments from being involved in commercial activities. They believed the massive shake-up would strengthen party building, combat corruption and smuggling activities, and separate government functions from those of enterprises.

The PLA and the armed police were reported to have handed over their business empire to a special office under the State Economic and Trade Commission, and relevant local offices, by the middle of last month.

From South China Morning Post

Back to Top
Back to Article Index

line.gif

Previous Month | News | Next Month

../images/line4.gif

BackHome

../images/line4.gif

Copyright DateRichard R. Wertz