The battle is on for the SAR's reputation

TO friends of Hong Kong in Washington it was a low blow - the public surfacing of battles for the perception and reputation of the SAR now constantly and quietly under way in the United States capital.

Stephen Chen, Taiwan's leading envoy to the US, was recently quoted prominently in the Washington Times warning that Hong Kong's 'one country, two systems' could never be adopted to reunify his island with the mainland. 'All things are eroding in Hong Kong,' he said. 'The civil service has been compromised.' The line was echoed on Friday in the more prestigious Washington Post. Jesse Helms, head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, described as 'incredible' any suggestion by the Clinton administration that the Hong Kong model could be used for 'Democratic Taiwan'. It amounted, he wrote, to 'kowtowing to the Chinese communists'.

Whether it is public sneers from powerful friends of Taiwan, embarrassments such as the right-wing claims that Hutchison Whampoa's port operations amounted to a Chinese takeover of the Panama canal, or threats in Congress to limit Hong Kong's import freedoms, the battle for the SAR's reputation is delicate, complex and highly important to a successful long-term transition.

Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa set out yesterday on a trip which will provide a first-hand feel for just how successfully Hong Kong has been representing itself in the nerve centre of its most important foreign ally. After visiting Toronto and Ottawa, he will arrive in the US on Wednesday for a three-day visit to New York and Washington, where, all being well, he will meet President Bill Clinton in the White House. It will be his first visit since September 1997, a heady time when Hong Kong at least had the oxygen of publicity to help get its message across.

While Taiwan relies on a strong Washington presence for its very national survival and has assembled one of the most extensive and expensive lobbying machines the capital has seen, Hong Kong has little choice but to duck and weave around the edges.

Officially, sovereign matters are handled by the Chinese embassy, just as they were by British envoys before. As an economically free city-state, Hong Kong has no cards to play such as trading privileges or closer relations. It must also ensure the special nature of 'one country, two systems' is understood and respected.