On the first major UK Government visit to Hong Kong since the handover in July, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook praised the new order there.

Cook: 'one country, two systems' a reality

"The Chinese government are able and willing to give Hong Kong the autonomy promised in the Joint Declaration and to let Hong Kong people run Hong Kong," he said. Despite government reservations over the Hong Kong electoral system, "the rule of law is alive and well," he added.

He also said that despite Asian economic turmoil, "the underlying fundamentals of the Hong Kong economy are strong".

Robin Cook's visit coincides with the publication of a Foreign Office report on Hong Kong - the first since the handover of the colony to China.

In the foreword to that report, Mr Cook notes that Hong Kong retains "a free and dynamic press", and that political parties "continue to play an essential role in leading and informing popular debate".

Martin Lee condemns "irresponsible" British stand

Not everyone professes themselves satisfied with the first six months of Chinese rule, however. Cook met with Martin Lee, the chairman of the Hong Kong Democratic Party, who said the elections due in May would not be fair.

He said, "I told him if the British Government can accept it, they are being irresponsible".

Half of the seats in the legislature will be voted on by business and professional groups and voter registration for the elections has been low.

Cook does not accept that working with China has been at the expense of human rights. "We do have massive continuing economic interest but ... we also have the commitment to defend the freedom of Hong Kong," he said.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin

Earlier, in Beijing, Mr Cook talked with Chinese President Jiang Zemin and other officials.

He praised China's decision to allow the UN human rights commissioner, Mary Robinson, into the country, but is still seeking information about the condition of 12 political prisoners.

He failed to extract a promise from Chinese leaders on his Beijing visit to release any of the 12, including Wang Dan, a former student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests now sentenced to 11 years in jail for subversion.

"We will continue to press them until we have achieved a satisfactory outcome", he said.

He spoke there of the need to make a "fresh start" in relations with China. "It is always very easy to have clean hands by refusing to have anything to do with countries that have policies you don't agree with but you are going to do nothing to change that," he said.

Before leaving Beijing, however, he did express his regret at changes to the electoral system that the Chinese imposed there after the handover.

"I am glad that the government of Hong Kong kept has kept its commitment to hold elections within 12 months, but I regret the fact that the franchise is narrower than the system that we left behind," Cook said.
 

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