GOVERNOR Chris Patten yesterday fired another salvo against China, criticising Lu Ping, the top Chinese official in charge of Hong Kong affairs, for threatening to hurt Hong Kong people's livelihood.
Mr Patten said the Hong Kong Government would certainly not say the sort of things that Mr Lu had said: that Sino-British co-operationon economic matters would be undermined if Mr Patten tabled his electoral package to the legislature.
Mr Lu, the director of the Chinese State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, made the comments to a visiting delegation of the Liberal Party members.
''It's not the sort of threat that I would ever make myself about people's livelihood,'' Mr Patten said.
''I don't honestly think that if one is trying to win the hearts and minds of the people in Hong Kong, it would make very much sense to say unless you agree with everything we want on political issues, we are going to hurt your livelihood . . .
' 'It would certainly never be said by the Hong Kong Government.'' He said effort should be put into finding a fair, open and acceptable election in Hong Kong rather than exchanging criticism.
