Twelve days or so after the massive July 1 demonstration, word leaked out that the central government had sent teams of officials to Hong Kong to assess the political situation and to talk to a wide spectrum of people, including members of the Democratic Party. The immediate reaction was almost ecstatic. The central government, it was said, wanted its own avenue of information on how the Hong Kong public felt about such things as Article 23 legislation and other causes of discontent, and was interested in gauging the sentiments of the Democratic Party, which it had officially ostracised. The sad thing is that the Liaison Office in Hong Kong saw fit to issue a denial that such meetings actually took place. Sad because leaders in Beijing were roundly applauded for being open-minded in seeking the views of the Democrats on such key issues as the cause of the mass demonstration, the public's opinion on Article 23 legislation and the Democrats' views of the country's new leaders. The South China Morning Post applauded the contacts for being 'a sensible and mature way of gaining information which will help in understanding the mood in Hong Kong', adding: 'Dialogue of this type can only lead to a better understanding on both sides and it should be encouraged.' Similarly, a senior Hong Kong official, Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho Chi-ping, said the meeting between mainland officials and the Democrats had shown that the central government wanted to grasp public opinion. However, Liaison Office officials seemed intent on denying that the central government was open-minded or in any way enlightened. The denial showed that even though the central government was interested in establishing some kind of dialogue with the Democrats, it was not ready to admit it. In truth, according to both Democrats and people in the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong, such contacts have been taking place sporadically for some time. Tsang Yok-sing, chairman of the DAB, said on radio that it was natural for the two sides to resume communications. However, it is clear that the central government is not yet ready to acknowledge contacts with the Democrats, apparently for fear that the Democratic Party may somehow become the beneficiary of its goodwill. As Albert Ho Chun-yan, vice-chairman of the Democratic Party and someone who took part in meetings with mainland officials, has said, the Liaison Office statement was 'a political declaration which simply said 'you're not our friends and we have no ties or relations'.' The truth is that the Democrats represent a significant section of public opinion in Hong Kong, and neither the special administrative region government nor the central government in Beijing can afford to ignore them. Although opinion surveys show they no longer command the public support they did in the early 1990s, six years of marginalising them has failed to destroy the party, which remains the largest bloc in the legislature. Hopefully, now that Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa has pledged to meet regularly with members of all political parties in Hong Kong, the Democrats will once again be able to exchange views with the SAR government. Presumably, such views will be passed on to central government officials and perhaps, in time, the Democrats will be 'rehabilitated' and even be allowed to visit the mainland. In the long run, a dialogue between the central government and the Democrats can only be beneficial to all parties concerned. Frank Ching is a Hong Kong-based journalist and commentator frankching1@aol.com
