To China From Hong Kong, a Burning Reminder

Some dates burn with meaning. July 4 in the United States. May 1 in Russia. And June 4 in China, when government troops slaughtered pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Now approaches July 1, when bustling, vibrant Hong Kong reverts to Chinese rule--another date that will not be forgotten.

Wednesday night, 50,000 Hong Kongers marched in a candlelight vigil to mark the eighth anniversary of the sacrifice of their Chinese brethren at Tiananmen, and to send a message to the Chinese officials and cadres who will soon take up the reins of power in what remains for less than four weeks a British colony. That message is: Move slowly, do not break faith with those who built Hong Kong into what will be China’s economic jewel.

Wednesday night’s rally was promoted by the Democratic Party, the most independent-minded in Hong Kong’s political spectrum. It came in defiance of Tung Chee-hwa, the Chinese proconsul in Hong Kong, who has called on the populace to “put down the baggage” of Tiananmen and “look ahead.” That will not be easy.

Tung Chee-hwa and a Beijing-appointed legislature will administer Hong Kong upon the departure of the British, who have stayed too long in a decolonized world. But the British are leaving institutions--common law, a glimpse of democracy--that Tung and his officials will do well to study. Hong Kong works, and thrives, because it is untrammeled by fiddling bureaucracies, which is just the sort of baggage that comes with a Communist regime.

Tung has been a businessman, a shipping magnate, and he should know what it takes to make Hong Kong pay off for China. The question is whether he can, or chooses to, keep eager but nonproductive hands out of the money machine. His bosses in Beijing will make the final call on that one.

Equally important for Tung is keeping the political lid on tight. Hong Kong has been a window to the free world. Hong Kongers have enjoyed personal liberty. They are Chinese but Chinese with a different experience. To stifle their instincts toward free movement and free speech might mean some future candlelight vigil to stain China’s honor. That can be avoided by a patient, thoughtful takeover July 1.