Mainland under fire, left, right and centre

This week's brain teaser from Washington: what do the Catholic Church, animal rights groups, abortion foes, Friends of the Earth, America's biggest trades union group, Pat Buchanan, and consumer rights campaigner Ralph Nader have in common? Answer: they all, for one reason or another - and there are many reasons - want President Bill Clinton to pull the plug on China's most favoured nation (MFN) trade status.

The list of the Great Opinionated is by no means comprehensive, but already demonstrates how anti-China sentiment is one of the few issues in US politics which brings the far right and the progressive left on to the same platform.

It is now a routine yearly occurrence that Hong Kong's government office in Washington spends freely on several lobbying companies to pound the corridors of Capitol Hill trying to counter the anti-MFN groundswell, and this year it has been able to throw in some celebrity appearances - Legislative Councillor Martin Lee Chu-ming, Governor Chris Patten and Chief Secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang - to help focus legislators' wandering attention.

Adding to the frenzied lobbying mix is an unprecedented forming of coalitions and fronts both pro-and anti-MFN - a demonstration not only of how close people expect this year's congressional vote to go, but also of Beijing's looming presence in Washington's consciousness.

A glance at the formation of the battle lines is worthwhile for the insight it provides into the perpetual musical chairs that surrounds the passing or blocking of almost any piece of national legislation.

The White House has known since the new year that despite the noticeable relegation of human rights as an anti-MFN issue, the emergence of other matters - notably arms proliferation and trade disputes - is likely to make this year's congressional opposition to Beijing's privileges worryingly robust.