Hong Kong Under Chinese Rule

The Hong Kong hand-over from British to Chinese rule (July 1) gives rise to ambivalent feelings for Chinese in the diaspora. On the one hand, we rejoice that Britain’s ill-gotten gain has finally been returned to its rightful sovereign. On the other hand, overseas Chinese fear that our compatriots in Hong Kong will be stifled under a totalitarian regime. For those of us who have already voted with our feet, we put individual freedom above nationality. The Hong Kong Chinese who must remain do not have that choice.

In order for Hong Kong to keep thriving, China must ensure the survival of democracy and the rule of law, the most important legacy left behind by Britain.

PHYLLIS W. CHENG

Glendale

The wealth of Hong Kong has always been taken out of the purse of China. After the Communist victory on the mainland, independent Hong Kong grew rich by facilitating China’s trade with the rest of the world. Now, under Chinese rule, Hong Kong has lost its usefulness to the mainland, and is in direct competition with China’s own reemerging centers of trade and finance.

Shanghai, not Hong Kong, was traditionally the financial hub of the Far East, and is the best-situated port for China’s trade with America, its largest market. Canton, not Hong Kong, was southern China’s traditional center for trade with Europe.

The Chinese government has every reason to want its centers of foreign trade and finance brought back to the mainland, and to have them run by China’s own business community. If Shanghai and Canton regain their traditional dominance over China’s trade and finance, Hong Kong will wither.

D’LYNN WALDRON

Santa Monica

Watching Chinese troops entering Hong Kong to waving crowds of civilians on TV Monday morning reminded me of newsreels of Nazi troops entering Vienna to waving crowds of civilians almost 60 years ago.

JAMES N. BARDIN

Garden Grove