After the euphoria over President Bill Clinton's televised debate with President Jiang Zemin during his visit to China comes a more down-to-earth reminder of the way in which doors to the mainland remain closed at a less elevated level.
A year after the creation of the SAR, it is clear that the central authorities feel more at ease with Hong Kong's way of life than they may have been before the handover, and are happy to adopt a hands-off approach. But anomalies remain. One lies in the treatment of members of the new legislature wishing to visit the mainland.
The decision to continue to ban 12 members of Legco appears inconsistent with the one country, two systems policy. It is also hurtful to voters who have given a mandate to these lawmakers, and may wish them to be free to visit the mainland. Tung Chee-hwa was, himself, taken aback when he learned of the situation last year, having advised members of the Democratic Party to visit China and see for themselves advances being made there.
With leaders on both sides of the border urging closer ties, old restraints of this kind are a barrier to progress. If legislators are to be barred simply because they have criticised China, that creates two classes of Legco members, regardless of their claims to represent the community and provide a voice which has the legitimacy conferred by popular election. Such legislators, it should be added, were also critical of the colonial administration and the last Hong Kong government.
President Clinton, quoting Benjamin Franklin, was able to claim: 'My critics are my friends.' Hong Kong legislators are sons and daughters of China, anxious to return for no more sinister reason than to visit aged parents or to follow Mr Tung's advice. Keeping their names on a blacklist not only detracts from Beijing's new image, but also prevents influential voices in the community here from learning at first hand what is going on in the mainland.
What happens in the months ahead will provide a practical test of the rhetoric of the Clinton visit. Visiting permits for pro-democracy legislators would be a sign of genuine progress.