HONG KONG -- China's new premier, Wen Jiabao, on his first visit to Hong Kong in his new job gave a resounding speech, declaring that local people were in charge of their own destiny. The question now is whether he meant it and whether the leaders in Beijing are prepared to trust the maturity of Hong Kong's people -- not just for their own benefit but also for the good of all of China.
The omens are not good. No sooner had Wen safely crossed the border home than half a million Hong Kong people braved the melting temperatures, poured onto the streets and marched against Draconian security measures that the government of Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa was preparing to force into law with all the subtlety of a steamroller out of control.
It was the biggest protest in Hong Kong since a million people had marched in 1989 to show their anger against the crackdown by the People's Liberation Army on prodemocracy campaigners in the heart of the Chinese capital. Ironically, Wen's visit on July 1 was in celebration of the sixth anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to China's sovereignty after more than 150 years of British colonial rule.
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