IN THE wake of Governor Chris Patten's final "State of the Colony" address on Wednesday, attention is shifting to an intriguing and oddball race to succeed him as ruler of Hong Kong.
The choice will be made next month in an atmosphere of tension between London and Beijing over Mr Patten's speech, in which he criticised China's plans for Hong Kong and which Beijing said was aimed at sabotaging an orderly transition.
The contest to occupy the governor's residence, with its billiard tables and smoking rooms, has the trappings of a presidential campaign. The candidates are lobbying hard, newspapers publish opinion polls and there is talk of televised debates. There are, however, only 400 "electors", who must be approved by Beijing.
The selection committee, which China's Foreign Minister, Mr Qian Qichen, said should encompass many different views, will be nominated in the next few days and will make its decision in November. It is hardly a democratic procedure, though in a colony where for 150 years governors appeared out of the blue and ruled at the pleasure of HMG, democracy is a relative word. The procedure presents Beijing with a dilemma. The winner will be judged as a measure of how serious the Chinese government is about respecting Hong Kong's autonomy as a Special Administrative Region of China at the same time, China wants someone it can trust.
The most popular Hong Kong group, the Democratic Party, will have no candidate and is snubbing the selection committee because of Beijing's plans to dissolve the present elected legislature. Otherwise, the favoured choice in Hong Kong among likely candidates would be a woman, Shanghai born Chief Secretary Anson Chan Fang OnSan (56), the colony's most powerful civil servant. An "iron lady" with a big smile, she is respected in Beijing but her association with Mr Patten works against her and she has not declared an interest.
China's favourite is believed to be a shipping tycoon, Mr Tung Chee Hwa (59), also Shanghaibon, who has strong contacts with China, Taiwan, Britain and the United States. He recently got 55 per cent support in a poll which excluded Ms Anson Chan.
Lobbying hard is Sir Ti Liang Yang (67), who resigned as Hong Kong's Chief Justice last month to run for the job and is the first Chinese to head the Hong Kong judiciary under British rule. He is unpopular with the pro democracy camp for attacking a Bill of Rights introduced by the governor without China's agreement. Late comers in a crowded field include a tycoon, Mr Peter Woo Kwong Ching (50), another native of Shanghai, who is probusiness, and Mr Arthur Garcia (72), a retired High Court judge with a Chinese mother and Portuguese father.
By far the most unpopular candidate with the media is Mr Lo Tak Shing (61), a British educated solicitor and adviser to Beijing who favours less democracy and free speech.
Asked once if after the hand over a Hong Kong person could support Taiwan independence (which Beijing opposes) he said the reporter would have two stories, the speech and the speaker's immediate arrest.
Mr Lo was undoubtedly the person to whom Mr Patten was referring when he attacked those who would chip away at established rights to please Beijing. Speaking on government radio yesterday, Mr Patten repeated that it was a bad idea to dismantle the Legislative Council, but in Beijing a Foreign Ministry spokesman reiterated China's pledge to do just that.
Hong Kong newspapers also criticised Mr Patten's speech for raising tensions. The Beijing funded newspaper, Wen Wei Po, accused him of trying to "extend British political influences in Hong Kong after the handover".
The independent Sing Tao daily said he was venting his frustrations but Hong Kong did not want further rows. Mr Patten said yesterday Britain would mobilise international support if China failed to keep its promises to preserve Hong Kong's current lifestyle.