Wedneseay, March 9th

Today we got a walk around Central, the middle part of Hong Kong Island that overlooks the harbor. We then went on to the original courthouse, finished and occupied in the early 1900's. It is currently the home of the legislative branch of the government, the Legislative Council. Our amazing and ever-present guide and GSE co-ordinator Kenneth Wong was able to arrange a meeting with the Legal Advisor for the Legislative Council, Jimmy Ma. We had an hour to hear from this eloquent and highly placed offical about the powers vested in the Colonial Governor from the Queen, the history of the Unequal Treaties that originally defined the relationship with the China, and the creation of and the the nature of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative District, the document that governs the relationship between hong Kong and China since the reversion of Hong Kong to Chinese soverignty in 1997. This document also governs the reversion of Macau to Chinese soverignty, and hopefull will be the model for Taiwan, as well. The fundamental foundations of the relationship between Hong Kong and China are stipulated in this document, and provide for a 50 year period of gradual integration of Hong Kong fully into China, protection of the Hong Kong civil structure until that time, and gradual introduction of freer elections, with full individual sufferage by 2017 in the Executive branch of government, and by 2020 in the legislative branch of government. There are sufficient areas of theoretical cecession of power to the Republic of China and maintenance of day-to-day control in the civil institutions of Hong Kong to protect the people of Hong Kong, assure the ROC of the integration of the Colony into the Republic, and to allow the economic vibrancy of Hong Kong to extend into China, to entwine both in a mutually adventageous arrangement. And things seem to be going well. It is my own opinion that the amazing growth of China, with the accompanying creation of increasing wealth, both in China and Hong Kong, will move thing so rapidly that the de facto relationship of China and Hong Kong will occur more rapidly than the 50 years provided for in the Basic Law document.

On this day we also had presentations at two events, with the usual opportunity to make new friends and relationships, The Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile, and The Rotary Clubs of Hong Kong Central and of Bayview Sunshine--a joint meeting.