GOOD Catholic though he is, Governor Chris Patten has read the Basic Law more times than the Bible. So it was quite a surprise to see him referring to Article 104 of our Special Administrative Region (SAR) constitution as if that was all there was to the through-train issue.
As Mr Patten lays great emphasis on virtues of fairness and honesty, it would be wrong to suggest he was misleading Hongkong people, most of whom have not read the Basic Law and are unaware of that important resolution empowering the Preparatory Committee to confirm Legislative Councillors elected in 1995 to sit through to 1999.
This resolution was passed by the National People's Congress (NPC) at the same time as the enactment of the Basic Law. Mr Patten either overlooked this or did not think that it had any relevance to the Basic Law.
It goes to show how important it is for Hongkong people to be conversant with the Basic Law, which is the cornerstone of China's promise to keep our life-style unchanged for at least 50 years after 1997.
Ignorance encourages mischief. For instance, if a public figure said he would have no problem swearing allegiance to the SAR of Hongkong, but would refuse to swear allegiance to the SAR Government, the impression is that after 1997 all legislators must take an oath of loyalty to the government.
The Basic Law does not require sworn allegiance to the SAR Government. But some people get away with this kind of mischief, because the Basic Law is not widely read and there is a tendency to accept such statements by public personalities at face value.
