CHINA has called on Britain to revoke its 'mistaken policy' over Hong Kong and pave the way for Sino-British co-operation in the run-up to 1997.
In a commentary issued on the eve of talks between Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen and his British counterpart Douglas Hurd in New York, the semi-official Hong Kong China News Agency said the lack of progress in Sino-British relations during the past two years was because of a change in British policy.
The news agency called on Britain to stop making trouble and to end its confrontational approach. The Hong Kong question had become an important part of Sino-British ties.
The article attacked the Government for making changes to electoral legislation as well as other Hong Kong laws, banning contacts between civil servants and the Preliminary Working Committee and refusing to hand personal files of civil servants to China.
'If Britain continues to create trouble over the question of Hong Kong, not indulging in practical actions and refusing to co-operate; then any action to improve Sino-British ties would be fake, all its words would be empty and all the chances [of improvements] would become useless,' it said.
Noting that Britain had made gestures to heal relations by arranging a number of visits by senior leaders to Beijing, the article said China had to wait to see if there was real sincerity.
