How were Hong Kong members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference chosen? This question was partly answered by CPPCC head Li Ruihuan , when he attended a meeting of the Hong Kong members in Beijing last Saturday.
Mr Li told the Hong Kong members that their names had been proposed by the United Front Department and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing, as well as the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua and the SAR Government.
The final list was decided by the leadership of the CPPCC after consultation with Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa and the head of Xinhua's Hong Kong branch, Jiang Enzhu.
Mr Li admitted there had been no clear rules of selection. He mentioned, however, that some old members had been re-appointed because they had 'supported China in the prolonged struggle with the British Hong Kong Government, and made significant contributions for Hong Kong's return to China'.
This revelation reminds people of the role the Chinese Government used to expect of Hong Kong CPPCC members in pre-handover days, when a continuous war of words was waged between Beijing and London on transition affairs in Hong Kong.
In each of the past five years the Premier's annual report to the National People's Congress contained a paragraph on Hong Kong's awaited reunification with China. Invariably the British were warned not to make trouble for the transition, with the sternness of the warning depending on the temperature of the Sino-British row.
Debating the Premier's report is a main item on the agenda of the CPPCC. Naturally, the part on the 'struggle with the British Hong Kong Government' always attracted the most attention in the Hong Kong sub-group. Members spoke freely on Hong Kong affairs, voicing strong views on controversial issues and pointing fingers at the British.