THOSE who have been chosen to represent Hong Kong on the Preparatory Committee, which will oversee the territory's reversion to Chinese rule, have a heavy duty to discharge.
The exclusion of the Democratic Party is to be deplored, yet scarcely surprising given Beijing's deep hostility towards the biggest political party within the Legislative Council.
Nonetheless the 94 local appointees should prove sufficiently broadly-based to embrace most shades of opinion in Hong Kong. Compared with the yes-men (and women) who dominated the Preliminary Working Committee (PWC), they represent a substantial improvement.
The business sector's heavy representation merely mirrors London's decades-long strategy of governing the territory in alliance with leading industrialists. All that has changed are the faces, with the Preparatory Committee naturally dominated by representatives of Chinese rather than British hongs.
Some degree of balance is provided by the inclusion of a small number of welfare representatives and grassroots activists, such as the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood chairman Frederick Fung Kin-kee, who will be one of the few quasi-democrats on the new body.
Particularly welcome is the appointment of two former Basic Law drafters who quit in protest at Beijing's handling of the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations. This shows a refreshing willingness on China's part to set past differences aside, and a hopeful sign that reconciliation with at least some parts of the Democrats may eventually prove possible.
