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PRIME Minister John Major's visit to Hong Kong is said to be aimed mainly at boosting the morale of his good friend Governor Chris Patten, who has been relentlessly attacked and sidelined by the Chinese Government.

  It is not surprising if Mr Patten feels depressed as well as infuriated by the Chinese Government's onslaught.

  With only 486 days to go before the Chinese takeover, the days of Mr Patten's unhappy existence are at least numbered.

  On his departure from Hong Kong, Mr Patten will no doubt be amply rewarded.

  In his eagerness to console his political ally, Mr Major appears to have completely overlooked the fact that it is the confidence of the Hong Kong people that is crying out for a boost from London.

  Last week a 13-member delegation from the Legislative Council went to London to urge the British Government to reconsider the question of restoring full British citizenship to those Hong Kong people who want it.

  We were given short shrift by Home Secretary Michael Howard and Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind.

  Both adamantly insisted the British Government would not reopen the case.

  However, British politicians can rest assured this issue will not go away.

  Some people may argue it is pointless to flog a dead horse. But I see it as my duty to constantly remind the British Government of its moral obligation to the Hong Kong people, particularly the 3.5 million British subjects.

  The land of Hong Kong will have to be handed over to China in 1997, but there is no earthly reason why British citizens should be delivered to communist rule, particularly those who do not want to be.

  Britain's honourable way out of the 1997 conundrum is to offer citizenship to those Hong Kong people who want it. This will enable them to get out if things go wrong after 1997.

  Under colonial rule, Hong Kong has been denied a democratic government, yet there is the rule of law and the people enjoy many freedoms.

  During this final phase of transition to Chinese rule, there is growing concern these freedoms may disappear when the British leave.

  The Chinese Government's recent attempt to ban or postpone a Lutheran Church world conference scheduled to be held in July 1997 has been criticised as undermining the freedom of worship.

  Growing self-censorship in the news media prompted by the desire to avoid upsetting the Chinese Government has called into question whether press freedom and the freedom of expression will survive the transition.

  In these difficult and uncertain times, the British Government can empower the helpless Hong Kong people by giving them an effective citizenship, which will allow them to have more control over their own destiny.

  This morning when the prime minister meets Legco members in Government House he will repeat London's refusal to share even some of the future's risk with the Hong Kong people.

  He will also try to convince Legco members that Britain has limited room for manoeuvre and is increasingly irrelevant, as Mr Rifkind told Legco on January 8.

AS Hong Kong gets closer and closer to 1997, power will inevitably slip away from the British.

  But this does not mean they are completely powerless.

  It does not require too much intelligence to see the British are eager to be portrayed as irrelevant and having no clout, thus ensuring that few Hong Kong people would bother to ask them for anything.

  The lower the Hong Kong public's expectations, the easier it is for Britain to wriggle out of its obligations.

  Thus the British are only too happy to encourage the Hong Kong people's reticence to 'beg' London for citizenship.

  Just imagine Britain's utter embarrassment if hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong people demanded full British citizenship.

  Britain is not as powerless as it seems but it appears to be so largely of its own choosing.

  The truth is that what Britain can do, it refuses to do, what it claims it wants to do, it cannot do unless with the co-operation of China.

  Hong Kong people must use the prime minister's visit to remind him of the things that his government can and should do for us.



A Major boost in confidence required