r children to study in Some ROC scholars have even seen the Hong Kong settlement as an opportunity for Taipei to move politically against the communist mainland. In a paper presented befo re the Fifteenth Sino-American conference on mainland China held in Taipei June 8-14, 1986, Professor Peter Kien-hong Yu of National Sun Yat-sen University said: The ROC ... should wait for the day that Hong Kong officially becomes part of China. In the m eantime, it should try to secure what it has now in that British colony, while at the same time, expand its influence and try to gain a majority in the Hong Kong Legislative Council and Urban and Regional Councils. By controlling the Hong Kong electoral b odies, the ROC, theoretically speaking, would be able to exert direct influence and neutralize the PRC in as many as eighteen different scenarios. Without question, the Hong Kong settlement provides the ROC with both challenges and opportunities that would not otherwise exist. Exactly how Taipei will attempt to use the situation to its advantage is one of the most intriguing questions in Chinese studies at this time. one pattern that has already emerged is the unofficial message that Taipei can't really co n sider reunification until it sees how the Hong Kong settlement works out after 1997. The May 1986 talks between representatives of the ROC's China Airlines (CAL) and the Civil Aviation Administration of China over the return of a CAL Boeing 747 freighter and two of its crew members may mean that Hong Kong will become more of a symbolic meeting place between Taipei and Beijing in the future.
10. Chung-vang iih-gao, September 27, 1984, p. 1. See also Shaw Yu-ming, "An ROC View of the Hong Kong Issue," Issues and Studies June 1986, pp. 'b-30. The entire issue was devoted to the Hong Kong problem.9
The U.S. position on the CAL talks was "no comment," a stance praised in Taipei and understood in Beijing. Similarly, on the principle that it was solely an issue between the United Kingdom and the PRC, the U.S. government did not play a role in the Hong Kong settlement. But the U.S. clearly indicated its interest in a peaceful and satisfactory resolution of the issue in such a way as (1) to preserve Hong Kong's u n ique status as a financial and trading center (Hong Kong is the tenth largest trading partner of the U.S.) and (2) to preserve the way of life of the people of Hong Kong. The U.S. also hinted that the manner in which Hong Kong's future would be handled co u ld greatly influence the future prospects for reunification with Taiwan. The U.S. further indicated that it would support Hong Kong's separate participation in the GATT (General figreement on Tariff and Trade) and other multilateral organizations. The off i cial U.S. position on the Hong Kong Agreement was given on September 26, 1984, in a State Department press conference: The U.S. Government welcomes the successful conclusion of two years of negotiations between the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China over the future of Hong Kong. The United States has a strong interest,in the continued stability and prosperity of Hong Kong and believes the agreement will provide a solid foundation for Hong Kong's enduring future progress. In this regard, we h a ve noted statements by both sides indicating that Hong Kong's way of life will be guaranteed for 50 years from 1997 and that systems existing in Hong Kong will continue in the special administrative region. We expect the American business communities, bot h in the United States and Hong Kong, will see in this agreement good reason for sustained confidence in the future of Hong Kong as an attractive and thriving commercial center. The United States will provide any assistance it can, in close cooperation wit h the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China, to maintain Hong Kong's a iate participation in international ,2ppropr bodies.' Since that statement many high-ranking U.S. officials have visited Hong Kong and expressed their confidence in'Hong Kon g's future.1 1. For an excellent discussion of the U.S. posi