Paying lip service to the voices of dissent

The director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Lu Ping, arrived in the colony on April 11 to 'consult' people about the setting up of the selection committee to choose the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) chief executive and provisional legislature.

However the Chinese Government indicated from the start it would not listen to dissenting views, particularly those from the pro-democracy lobby. The fact that the Bar Association got a hearing will not convince the public China is willing to listen to dissenting views. Although the Federation of Students received a last-minute invitation to replace the Professional Teachers' Association, its representatives were expelled when they began distributing leaflets about the provisional legislature.

Minutes after Mr Lu stepped off the plane, he was met by demonstrators protesting against the provisional legislature. The following day, Mr Lu was forced to arrive early for his appointment and make detours to avoid protesters.

Compared with the demonstrations which greeted Chinese Premier Li Peng in Paris during his recent visit, the local protests were nothing. However should Mr Li decide to come for the handover ceremony next year, he may get a rowdy reception.

While many Hong Kong people do not take to the streets to protest, Mr Lu should not take this as a sign they condone the Chinese Government's habitual refusal to consider dissenting views.

With 442 days to go before the handover, the resilient colony is remarkably peaceful. However the tranquillity was momentarily shattered last month by long queues outside the Immigration Department. Tens of thousands of anxious people waited in the rain to beat the March 31 deadline for naturalisation.