By all accounts, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit to the mainland was a success. He met virtually the entire Chinese leadership, including President Hu Jintao, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and Chairman of the Central Military Commission Jiang Zemin. But initially, the Chinese were not sure that the visit would go so smoothly. At a Foreign Ministry briefing last Thursday, three days before Mr Blair's arrival, a reporter asked: 'Will Blair discuss the Hong Kong issue with the Chinese leadership?' The spokesman responded: 'With respect to the subject of the talks, I shall remind you that the Hong Kong issue is totally an internal affair of China.' Since 1997, the Chinese government's position has been that foreign countries have no right to criticise because Hong Kong is an internal affair. Mr Hu, during Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's visit, reiterated this position by declaring: 'Hong Kong belongs to China and the people of Hong Kong. We are strongly opposed to the attempt of any foreign forces and other forces from outside to interfere in the internal affairs of Hong Kong.' Clearly, the Chinese government was annoyed at the adverse comments on Article 23, which had come from countries such as Britain, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and the European Union. The EU, in fact, has issued four statements on Article 23, the latest only a week ago, when it welcomed the Hong Kong government's decision to 'further engage in building consensus on this issue'. It recalled the EU's 'support of the 'one country, two systems' principle and of the preservation of the specific status of Hong Kong and respect for human rights and freedoms enjoyed by its citizens'. Today, China tends to forget it asked the international community to support the formula. Such support gave those countries the right to monitor the situation in Hong Kong to ensure that China's promises are kept. It is not interference. As was to be expected, Mr Blair spoke on the Hong Kong issue while on the mainland. Instead of being reprimanded, however, his words were widely disseminated and acclaimed, because he had nothing but praise for the central government. The official China Daily newspaper published an article headlined: 'Blair's appraisal welcome' and an editorial: 'Blair's praise shows his confidence in HK.' This shows once again that the central government only wants to hear praise, not criticism. Criticism, it appears, is interference; praise is not. This position was starkly underlined in 1999 when, during the same week, the American and British consuls-general in Hong Kong spoke in public. The US official, Richard Boucher, addressed the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce in late January, when he said that Hong Kong may be 'compromising a bit' on its basic principles. Immediately, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's commission in Hong Kong denounced Mr Boucher, saying: 'It is inappropriate for a foreign consul-general in Hong Kong to make irresponsible and unwarranted remarks on such internal affairs of China.' The following day, Sir Andrew Burns addressed the British Chamber of Commerce. He voiced confidence in Hong Kong's traditional strengths and robust fundamentals, staying away from controversial issues. Xinhua reported on his speech at length. There was no charge of interference in internal affairs. A few days later, however, Sir Andrew voiced 'serious concern' over possible moves to restrict the powers of Hong Kong's highest court. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing responded by saying the issue was a domestic matter in which foreign countries should not interfere - a clear illustration of China's 'principled position'. Frank Ching is a Hong Kong-based journalist and commentator frankching1@aol.com