WHEN Susie Chiang embarked on the mission of setting up a government information office which would make Taiwan 'stand tall in Hong Kong,' she took her brief quite literally.
After scouring the city for the best money could buy, she chose the entire penthouse floor of One Pacific Place, an appointment which is not only central and prestigious, but also symbolic. From 40-storeys up, with magnificent views of the harbour to the north and hills to the south, the Kwang Hwa Information and Culture Centre has Hong Kong at its feet.
But with Hong Kong about to revert to Chinese rule in 1997, was it worth all the trouble, and all the expense? Will the communists permit the renegade province such a bold presence in the future Special Administrative Region? Was Taiwan just making a vainglorious last hurrah before tumbling from its perch and crashing to earth? 'They (the Chinese government) are saying we can stay, and I assume we can stay beyond 1997 because I think what we are doing is good for the people of Hong Kong,' Ms Chiang said in an interview.
Still, she admits that Taiwan's post-1997 presence in Hong Kong is in question. 'What I fear is that after 1997 they might interfere in what sort of activities we are going to have.' China's official line on Taiwan's presence in Hong Kong post-1997 is that nothing will change, and the many Taiwan organisations with offices here are confident they will be allowed to stay.
However, few people believe that representatives of what China considers to be a political and ideological rival will get off scot-free, any more than they have confidence that life in the new SAR will be exactly as it was under British rule. Taiwan is anxious for talks with the mainland to clarify its position in Hong Kong, but so far there have been no such formal discussions.
How the mainland handles Taiwan's presence here will be a test of the one country, two systems formula under which Beijing eventually hopes to reunify China and the island state.
