HONG KONG BRITISH BUT ONLY UNTIL 1997
By Bob Van Leer

   (HONG KONG, Oct. 24, 1991) - Today was our farewell to the People's Republic of China after nearly a three week tour.

  We expressed our appreciation to our hosts, the All-China Journalists Association, without whom this tour could not have happened.

  Three members of the association accompanied us throughout the whole tour, Mr. Li Xiande, a member of the secretariat of the association; Mr. Liu Yong Sheng, deputy chief of the Europe-American division, our principal organizer; and Mr. Zhang Xuejun, otherwise known as Henry, of the Europe-American division of the association.

  They were wary of us at the start and we of them, but after three weeks of living together, sometimes in trying circumstances, we became friends.

Can Work Together

  We don't always agree politically but we can work together on a person-to-person basis. There were misty eyes on both sides at the parting at the train station in Guangzhou.

  In addition to the three who traveled with us the whole trip, in each city we visited two or three members of the local association would assist us on our tour. It is going to take a while to sort out all our impressions from the tour.

  On the one hand the country appears stable and prosperous by local standards. But the few westerners we have met have spoken about widespread corruption in the government. Even our hosts have alluded indirectly to corruption in the form of this used to happen but is being cleaned up.

  It has been very frustrating not to be able to communicate directly with the people. In Hainan we were told that capital punishment was imposed on the order of a dozen times a month and factories were required to send delegations to watch the executions.

OnTo Hong Kong

  We boarded the train for the 2.5 hour ride from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, which is governed by the British until 1997.

  After that Hong Kong reverts to China with the promise that Hong Kong can continue its present system of capitalism for another 50 years.

  The train traveled through lush farm land. The yellow-green of growing rice has become familiar along with water buffalos staked out in fields. The animals, a little larger than cows, are controlled by a rope tied tied through the septum of their noses.

  Betty and I had always wanted to go to Hong Kong but never expected to arrive there by train from China. The train trip was routine as far as these trips go with a minimum of hassle. After getting settled in out hotel we went out looking through town. Our hotel, the Kowloon, is well located but has the smallest rooms we have stayed in for a long time.

Shopping A Pain 

 Shopping is a pain because the prices on the merchandise are not what you are expected to pay. You have to haggle for everything. Sometimes you can buy articles for less than half the listed price. Sometimes not that much of a discount, but only rank amateurs pay the asking price.

  I ran across the first anti-Americanism on the whole tour, a clerk didn't want American dollars, a currency virtually every store takes. He said America is too weak, we want Japanese money, "U.S. people yap, yap, yap, too much bullshit".

  Out tour director, Joanne, called our rooms to say that the Republic of China, that is the Taiwanese government, wants to host us to a reception and dinner tomorrow evening. They will take us by bus to a reception on top of a tower on Hong Kong Island overlooking the city, bay and Kowloon and then return us to the Kowloon Club for dinner.

  We hesitated but then accepted the invitation. About then we decided it was time to go home. We're getting spoiled. Any other time we would leap at an invitation like that.

  Tomorrow will be our last day of the tour and we will spend it sightseeing and shopping topping off with the reception and dinner.