Under British colonial rule, no democracy in Hong Kong: white paper

BEIJING -- Under British colonial rule, there was no democracy in Hong Kong, said a white paper issued Monday.

Titled "Hong Kong: Democratic Progress Under the Framework of One Country, Two Systems," the white paper was issued by China's State Council Information Office.

Britain exercised a typical colonial rule over Hong Kong, under which a governor was appointed to rule on behalf of Britain without the people of Hong Kong ever being consulted, the white paper said.

The governor was answerable only to the British government and was entirely at its command, it added.

The British colonial government maintained a repressive rule in Hong Kong, the white paper said, adding that the British government repeatedly rejected all calls for democratic reform in Hong Kong.

In October 1992, soon after he took office, Chris Patten, the last Governor, presented a proposal for electoral reform which violated the Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong (Sino-British Joint Declaration), violated the principle of aligning Hong Kong's future political system with the Basic Law, and violated previous agreements and understandings reached between the two sides, the white paper noted.

"The intention was to undermine China's sovereignty and full governance and extend British political influence after Hong Kong's return to China, by turning Hong Kong into a de facto independent or semi-independent political entity," it added.