Monday June 24
HONG KONG (Reuters) - In 1997, Hong Kong people were consumed with fear that their new rulers in Beijing would begin curbing freedoms and meddling in the bustling territory's freewheeling ways.
Now, five years after the handover, hardly a month seems to go by without a prominent Hong Kong figure making a pilgrimage to mainland China asking for favours to ease the pain of the territory's second recession since the end of British rule.
Preoccupied with harsh economic troubles and slowly coming to grips with growing dependence on China, many people in the territory prefer not to think about the political changes in recent years.
Political commentators say most would rather not acknowledge the subtle rollback on some rights and freedoms, which have raised doubts about Beijing's promise to Hong Kong that its way of life will remain intact for 50 years.
Outspoken pro-democracy lawyer and legislator Margaret Ng perhaps summed the mood best in a newspaper article last week headlined "Democracy in Recession".
She predicted Hong Kong's Beijing-backed leader Tung Chee-hwa would become more authoritarian in his second term, which begins on the handover anniversary on July 1.
Tung, who was not popularly elected, won approval from the legislature last week to make the most sweeping changes to Hong Kong's government structure since the return to Chinese rule.
Under the new system, he will run the city with a handpicked team of 14 lieutenants, a move critics say will concentrate more power in his hands and ultimately mean more control for Beijing over the territory's affairs.
The names of the political appointees were announced on Monday morning after being approved by Beijing.[..]
"With the legislature marginalised, the government is poised to rule by the will of Mr Tung and his chosen few... civil liberties will be more exposed to curtailment than ever. Already, the process has started," wrote legislator Ng.
FEARS OF GRADUAL EROSION OF FREEDOMS
Political observers were alarmed recently when Tung's administration seemed to be getting tougher on Beijing's critics.
Three pro-democracy activists were arrested at home in May at the crack of dawn for organising an unauthorised rally, the first time the law has been invoked in Hong Kong since the handover.
Last week, a Hong Kong court began trying 16 followers of the [...] Falun Gong spiritual movement for causing a public obstruction, the first time members of the group have been prosecuted in the territory.
Falun Gong is outlawed on mainland China but remains legal in Hong Kong.
"Why should they do that? We all know protests in Hong Kong are very peaceful. These guys (the activists) are very peaceful, they know their limits very well," said Joseph Cheng, political science professor at the City University in Hong Kong.
"We are concerned with this government that does not respect the rule of law, the exercise of freedoms by the public and we are worried about the government's attitude," Cheng added.
Critics say the rule of law was also called into question in 1998 when the government decided not to prosecute a powerful pro-Beijing publisher and friend of Tung over a fraud case. [...]
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/reuters/asia-111954.html
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