HONG KONG : Into the Home Stretch

Gov. Chris Patten is scheduled to disclose his plans for the last five years of British rule in Hong Kong during a major policy address to the Legislative Council--the colony’s legislature--on Wednesday.

Patten’s speech is likely to bring new thinking to many 1997-related issues that have remained unresolved since Britain decided to hand over the colony to China in accordance with principles laid down in a 1984 Sino-British agreement.

The crunch issue is likely to be the manner of direct election of Hong Kong’s legislature after 1995. Britain and China have referred to the concept known as the “through train,” under which the legislators elected in 1995 would remain in office through Hong Kong’s transition to Chinese rule and up to 1999. The Chinese, however, interpret this as giving them a veto over the legislature’s composition.