Britain Reaffirms Responsibility for Hong Kong Until ’97

The British minister in charge of Hong Kong Friday reaffirmed Britain’s total responsibility for the colony until 1997 and said he hoped for a “coming together” of views between London and Peking on the issue.

Timothy Renton, minister of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, denied allegations by some Hong Kong residents that Britain was “selling out” its colony by bowing to Chinese wishes for only limited democracy before the 1997 hand-over.