Britain Rejects China’s Troop Request for Hong Kong

HONG KONG — With less than three weeks left before Hong Kong reverts to Chinese rule, Beijing and London locked horns Thursday over China’s troop deployment plans and Britain’s decision to boycott part of the ceremony.

Britain flatly rejected Beijing’s request to admit more Chinese troops to the colony before the formal transfer ceremony at midnight June 30 so the People’s Liberation Army could be in position for the historic moment.

“There is no question of Britain agreeing to the deployment of the main PLA garrison in Hong Kong before July 1,” said British Foreign Office spokesman Bill Dickson.

“Britain is the sovereign power and is responsible for the defense of Hong Kong up to the last stroke of midnight on June 30, and that is when China assumes its sovereign responsibility.”

The clash deepened a rift over British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s decision to boycott the latter half of the grand hand-over ceremony, during which Beijing will inaugurate an unelected legislature to replace the territory’s current elected body.

Australia, however, dashed British hopes of a unified Western stand by putting national interest first and declining to join the United States and Britain in shunning the investiture ceremony.

Frequent Sino-British disputes have marred Hong Kong’s 13-year transition to Chinese rule under the terms of a 1984 treaty, but relations plummeted to an all-time low over democratic reforms instigated by the British governor, Chris Patten.

On Thursday, a Hong Kong judge threw out a lawsuit by Hong Kong’s Democratic Party challenging the legality of the legislature that Beijing has appointed to replace the current elected one. Judge Raymond Sears ruled that the case was “doomed to failure” and would be a waste of time and money, Hong Kong radio said.

The Democrats, who are boycotting the appointed legislature, said they may appeal.