China Spurns Britain’s Troop Request

HONG KONG —  Britain’s attempts to bolster flagging confidence in Hong Kong by pressing Beijing to promise not to station troops here after 1997 have prompted a sharp response from the Chinese authorities and could backfire, political analysts say.

China has attacked the proposal, accusing Britain of violating the treaty governing the handover, which allows Chinese troops to be stationed here.

Western diplomats say if Britain persuades the Chinese not to install a garrison here after the handover it will be a major public relations coup.

“The Chinese won’t yield,” said political scientist Joseph Cheng, “and Britain will have to scramble to salvage a massive loss of face.”

Britain broke off routine talks after condemning the bloody military suppression of anti-government protests in Beijing June 3-4, when hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people were killed, postponing the 13th round originally scheduled for mid-July.

However, if Beijing does not agree then confidence will plummet.

‘Lame Duck’ Britain

“Britain wants to be seen to be doing something to restore confidence after refusing to grant right of abode to Hong Kong people. But those efforts are not likely to succeed and that could show them up to be a lame duck,” said Cheng, dean of arts and humanities at the Open Learning Institute.

He saw the issue as a sop to make up for Britain’s refusal to grant residency rights to Hong Kong citizens and provide them with an escape route should Chinese rule prove repressive.

Diplomats said China’s angry reaction to the proposal, aired in Hong Kong recently, suggests that Beijing is extremely unlikely to compromise.

The statement, by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, was published in the Sunday edition of the official Chinese newspaper, the People’s Daily.

“In this manner, Britain has utterly violated the essence and spirit of the Joint Declaration and interfered in China’s internal politics,” it said.

Army’s Link to Deng

Diplomats said the problem was especially thorny because of the army’s link with China’s paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.

“It was Deng Xiaoping who came out to insist in 1984 the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) would be stationed in Hong Kong,” said a Western diplomat.