PRESIDENT Mr Bill Clinton's top Asia policy adviser, Mr Winston Lord, last night told Congress that Washington should make clear to China that the US had ''large humanitarian and commercial stakes'' in the future of Hongkong.
Mr Lord said that while the US did not want to challenge the principle of ''One China'', Washington must build its relations with Hongkong through the new US-Hongkong Policy Act and with Taiwan through the Taiwan Relation Act.
Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations hearing which must approve his new position as the Assistant Secretary of State for Asia, Mr Lord accused Chinese leaders of clinging to an ''outdated authoritarian system''.
Mr Lord, a former US ambassador to China who has criticised president Mr George Bush's China policy, told the senators that the US should not shun China but must make clear that America expected reforms.
He said Washington should look towards more progressive forces in China in its long-term ties.
''We need both to condemn repression and preserve links with progressive forces which are the foundation for our longer term ties.