Hong Kong vote set for May '98, future leader says
June 29, 1997
Web posted at: 2:26 p.m. EDT (1826 GMT)Latest developments:
- U.S. reminds China of need for 'rule of law'
- Britain-China summit planned before handoff
- Weddings make British list of 'lasts'
- Related stories and sites
HONG KONG (CNN) -- As international VIPs converged upon Hong Kong on Sunday for festivities marking the territory's handover to Chinese rule, its future government said the first democratic elections here under Chinese rule would be held in May 1998.
Future chief executive Tung Chee-hwa told visiting Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer that elections for a new legislature would be held next May, Downer told reporters.
Hong Kong's democratically elected legislative council, seated during British rule, will be replaced hours after the midnight Monday handover with a provisional legislature appointed by Beijing.
Democratic elections for the former British colony had been one of the most contentious issues surrounding the transfer of power. Tung, a shipping magnate chosen by Beijing to bridge the handover, had earlier promised a vote within a year, but had not named the month.
In another move of apparent reassurance, Chinese President Jiang Zemin pledged Sunday to respect Hong Kong's right to autonomy and safeguard the freedoms of its residents.
"We will firmly ... safeguard the Hong Kong residents' rights and freedoms in accordance with the law," China's official news agency, Xinhua, quoted Jiang as saying before he left the Chinese capital to review the 4,000 troops Beijing is sending into Hong Kong.
However, Hong Kong's Democratic Party has heaped scorn on the Chinese government's apparent attempt to smooth relations between the Communist Party and pro-democracy activists, who are vowing to push on with protests.
U.S. reminds China of need for 'rule of law'
The United States also has been concerned about China's actions after the handover. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright again warned China Sunday that the United States cares deeply about Hong Kong after the reversion to Chinese rule, and expects Beijing to allow "free and fair" legislative elections quickly.
"The rule of law is what has allowed Hong Kong to scrape the sky. It is upon the continuation of the rule of law that its future aspirations can depend," Albright said on her first day in the city of glistening skyscrapers.
Albright also was critical of the movement of troops into Hong Kong, saying, "It's not the best first signal." Democratic Party leader Martin Lee said the deployment was heavy-handed and "will only frighten our people."
"While there have been problems...I don't think anybody has managed the withdrawal from an empire as peacefully as the United Kingdon has done." --Chris Patten,
outgoing governorBritain-China summit planned before handoff
On Monday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Robin Cook will meet Jiang and Chinese Premier Li Peng for one hour of talks at a Kowloon hotel, British officials said.
During the summit, Blair's first meeting with Jiang, Cook said he and Blair would focus mainly on Hong Kong. He said Britain expected China to keep to its bargain in the 1984 Joint Declaration, and he reminded China this is a full-blown international treaty registered at the United Nations.
"Hong Kong will be the main centerpiece of our relations with China for a long time to come," Cook said.
In the final hours of British rule, Prince Charles bestowed knighthoods and other honors on a hundred local and expatriate Hong Kong residents in a final imperial ceremony in the gilded ballroom of Government House.
Outgoing Governor Chris Patten attended his final mass at the territory's Roman Catholic cathedral, where he took to the pulpit to preach the virtues of making money and thank the congregation for its support.
"The contract is we'll pray that Hong Kong will fly to the heavens, and you'll occasionally say a prayer for us," Patten said.
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Weddings make British list of 'lasts'
Symbols of British rule are already being stripped away from government buildings in Hong Kong. Workmen took the royal coat of arms off the entrance to Britain's former naval base Sunday. In the New Territories, Chinese flags have been raised alongside roadsides and pathways.
Patten said one last farewell to the territory's "first dogs," Whisky and Soda, before the dogs' departure Sunday for the Pattens' vacation home in Toulouse, France. The pooches should have left Friday, but were grounded in Hong Kong because of a baggage handlers' strike at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
And 76 couples were married on Sunday, receiving the last wedding certificates bearing the royal British emblem. Most couples said they wanted a pre-handover wedding, but the reasons had little to do with politics. According to the Chinese calendar, June 29 is the luckiest wedding day all year.
State Department Correspondent Steve Hurst, Correspondent Tom Mintier and Reuters contributed to this report.
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