What was wrong in China in 1989 which led to the tragic crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square? Student leader Chai Ling, in Hong Kong for a week, draws a conclusion that should provide much food for thought for the Beijing leadership and the governing team of the Special Administrative Region (SAR).
Ms Chai said: 'The fundamental cause of the June 4 tragedy is that there wasn't a free press. The Government did not understand the reality of the society and the students did not know how decisions were made by the party.' A simplistic interpretation of what Ms Chai has said is that a lack of a free press was the only reason for the calamity. But there is more to it than that - the absence of transparency in how the Government was operated and the lack of a channel for the masses to voice their views were more immediate problems that led to the split between the leadership and the people it governed.
In delivering her 'verdict', Ms Chai has been fair and calm. Instead of putting all the blame on the leadership, she concluded, with hindsight, that both sides had made mistakes.
Speaking eight years after the killings, Ms Chai's belated assessment of the crackdown is not only relevant to the Beijing leadership today, it is also a timely reminder for the SAR leadership.
Hong Kong has been lucky that in the past, even though the colonial administration was not as accountable and as transparent as the people would have liked, we did, and we still do, enjoy a high degree of press freedom, making us the envy of many of our neighbours.
With the introduction of representative government in the early 1980s and the partial opening of Legislative Council seats to elections in 1985, the Government had no choice but to hold itself more accountable.
This has been a healthy development.