From AP, via International Herald Tribune:
Hong Kong has become less democratic since the former English colony returned to Chinese rule 10 years ago, the city’s last British governor said in a talk show that aired Monday.
Beijing “has blocked off any progress at all toward democracy,” Chris Patten said in an interview on the British Broadcasting Corp.’s “Hard Talk” program. [Full Text]
To watch the interview, please click here. Read also Hong Kong Scorecard by Philip Bowring, former editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review:
Opinions on how Hong Kong has fared in 10 years under Chinese sovereignty are largely determined by the expectations, hopes and fears that prevailed in 1997.
Those who feared the worst back then are now agreeably surprised that Hong Kong remains a generally prosperous and open society. Those in the government who hoped for the best but feared otherwise are now prone to self-congratulation. Yet those who saw 1997 as an opportunity for positive change, who did not believe that preserving the status quo was sufficient, have reason to be disappointed.
Taking the decade as a whole, the high degree of autonomy promised by the Joint Declaration and Basic Law is still intact, but precedent-making holes have been made. [Full Text]
