Time for Beijing to accept HK is about more than money
The central government should realise that the city's economy and politics are intertwined
Mainland government officials have been coming to Hong Kong regularly to seek investments since the handover in 1997.
Last month, the mayor of Chongqing led a high-level delegation to Hong Kong and assured investors that his city, notwithstanding the Bo Xilai saga, would continue to open up.
Then came teams from Inner Mongolia and Gansu. Later this month, we will see another big trade delegation led by the party chief of Guangxi , Peng Qinghua , the former director of the central government's liaison office in Hong Kong who had established good relations with business leaders.
These official trade visits usually end with the signing of contracts worth millions or billions of dollars. No wonder mainland officials have, for decades, been describing Hong Kong as the goose that lays the golden eggs.
But some mainland officials have started to wonder whether this "golden goose" has turned wild and will not be delivering any more "golden eggs".
They are perplexed: why are Hongkongers so enthusiastic in political debates?