AS the British and Chinese governments continue their brinkmanship and megaphone diplomacy, the most encouraging news to emerge is that both sides may decide to reveal the contents of the 17 rounds of secret negotiations on the colony's electoral arrangements.
Many Hong Kong people simply cannot wait to learn more about the wheeling and dealing which went on behind closed doors where both sides claimed to represent the interests of the Hong Kong people.
Fed up as the Hong Kong people are with the Sino-British row, they can see that the Chinese Government is determined to control future Legislative Council elections. For Beijing, to hold elections and not know the results in advance is taking democracy too far.
The Hong Kong people can also see that the British are powerless to ensure that 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration will be faithfully implemented.
On December 6 the British Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd, told the House of Commons: ''Will we bequeath to Hong Kong an open and democratic system offering the electorate a genuine choice? Or will we settle for a system based on small electorates open to manipulation and corruption?'' It is not surprising that Mr Hurd failed to admit that the much maligned functional constituency elections, a form of limited franchise, was created by London in 1985. Among these ''constituencies'', the Urban Council has an electorate of 40 and the Regional Council 36. If Mr Hurd is serious in giving Hong Kong clean elections, he should move swiftly to abolish these two ''constituencies''.
Britain's attempt to give the colony a drop of democracy at the 11th hour in the form of Governor Patten's proposal in October 1992 is indeed too little, too late and is understandably viewed by many people with misgiving. Nevertheless, regardless of dark British motives, Hong Kong people should push ahead with demands for democratisation if they believe that is in their long-term interest.