THE old men think they know better than the people of Hong Kong about Tiananmen Square. For them, the killings five years ago are something that would better go unmentioned.
On top of this, they believe that those who gathered in Victoria Park last night to remember the victims of June 4 would have been better off staying at home.
But these are not the old men of Beijing, although they naturally endorse such sentiments. These are the old men of London. Britons such as former British prime minister Sir Edward Heath, a self-proclaimed ''old friend of China'', who presided over the restoration of full Sino-British diplomatic relations in 1971.
Sir Edward last week had this advice for Hong Kong: ''Stop talking about Tiananmen Square.'' The former premier did concede June 4 had been a ''bad'' day for China, but shrugged the killings off with a throwaway remark that ''these incidents happen''.
The man who launched Governor Chris Patten's political career by appointing him head of the Conservative Party's research department, has deserted his protege - privately labelling Mr Patten ''the worst disaster of the 20th century'' - to join the crowd of ageing British political has-beens, who count for little at home, but know they can still expect the red carpet whenever they visit Beijing.
Such views, of course, also exist in Hong Kong. But it is one thing for those who expect to be here after 1997 to espouse them: quite another for old men on the opposite side of the world to try to second-guess what is best for Hong Kong.
Other Britons in the ''let's forget Tiananmen ever happened'' crowd include Lord Callaghan, Sir Edward's successor as prime minister. He, at least, is frank in stating his belief that British trade is more important than democracy in Hong Kong.
