May 5, 2004
By Keith Bradsher

HONG KONG — A flotilla of Chinese warships sailed slowly down the length of Victoria Harbor today in a rare show of force that comes as democracy advocates here say they face growing intimidation by Beijing.

Two guided-missile destroyers, four guided-missile frigates and two submarines displayed China's military strength for the first time since the territory was handed over by Britain in 1997. It marked a distinct change of tactics by Beijing.

The Chinese military has been a nearly invisible presence here for the last seven years. Soldiers are required to wear civilian clothing when they leave their bases, and the main base is tucked away on an island at the harbor's western end..

But today , residents here watched as a submarine sailed past the downtown Bank of China tower, designed by I.M. Pei. Sailors in dress whites lined the sides of the destroyers and frigates, and some gave friendly waves to workers on a passing tugboat.

The People's Liberation Army described the visit as an occasion to honor the navy's 55th anniversary. But there was no such visit on the 50th anniversary in 1999. Today's display, too, came as people favoring popular elections here find themselves under growing pressure.

The city's best-known radio talk show host, Albert Cheng, a longtime supporter of greater democracy and a critic of the local government, flew to Europe on Sunday, beginning a vacation that he said would last for the rest of the year.

He left behind a tape recording, aired Monday, in which he complained of growing threats of violence against himself and his family. It described an increasingly "suffocating" political atmosphere.

Raymond Wong, Mr. Cheng's co-host of the popular, Chinese-language "Teacup in a Storm" show, said in a telephone interview today that he was considering whether to resign. He described receiving many anonymous death threats that, he said, were not troubling to him but had alarmed his family.

Mr. Wong owns a noodle shop and Mr. Cheng a small trading company. Both businesses have been vandalized with large quantities of red paint at night this spring.

Auto dealerships owned by mainland Chinese enterprises have pulled their advertising from Apple Daily, one of the city's largest Chinese-language newspapers and a rare supporter of greater democracy. Most of Hong Kong's pro-Beijing property tycoons have also been withholding ads from the newspaper since this territory's democracy movement began gathering steam last summer, according to an Apple Daily executive who insisted on anonymity.

Beijing has made a series of moves in the past four months to block further democracy here. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress announced last week that it would not allow introduction of universal suffrage in elections for the next chief executive in 2007 or for many seats in the Legislative Council in 2008.

London and Washington denounced that decision as undermining the autonomy of Hong Kong, something that China had promised to uphold. China rejected the criticism, pointing out that the British had opposed democratic freedoms through most of the century-and-a-half Hong Kong was a colony.

Moody's Investors Service, the credit-rating agency, issued a statement today highlighting Beijing's willingness to dictate rules for the 2008 legislative elections, something it does not have a legal right to do under the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution. Moody's said that Beijing's actions made it more clear that the credit ratings of Hong Kong and China should be linked. Moody's already does that informally, although still granting Hong Kong a rating one notch better than the mainland's.

Martin Lee, the founding chairman of the Democratic Party, tried to amend a non-binding motion in the legislature last Friday to condemn Beijing's decision. Rita Fan, the president of the Legislative Council, who was appointed to the body by a Beijing-dominated committee, ruled that the amendment was out of order.

Ma Lik, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, the main pro-Beijing party, said he opposed any threats against democracy advocates. He questioned whether Mr. Cheng and Mr. Wong had really been in any danger.

While noting that both men had frequently criticized him on the air, Mr. Ma challenged them to identify those responsible for threatening them. "We want to know who frightened them, and we will fight for their freedom of speech," Mr. Ma said.

Mr. Lee said that he doubted that Beijing would order any direct measures to harm democracy advocates here. "They kill your reputation, but not you," he said.

Hong Kong has long had an extreme leftist, pro-mainland fringe that is not under the control of either Beijing or the Democratic Alliance. It may, however, have been emboldened by recent strong criticisms of democracy advocates by pro-Beijing media, said Joseph Cheng, a pro-democracy professor of political science at Hong Kong University who is not related to Albert Cheng.

In sailing along the harbor after a six-day visit to a naval base at the harbor's western end, the Chinese flotilla clearly chose the most visible route possible. Most ships sail in or out of the western harbor without going through the central harbor itself — an increasingly narrow route. Because of landfills, that is now limited mostly to cruise ships and occasional pleasure craft.

Joseph Cheng said that the flotilla's visit could prove a shrewd move by China, because the well-behaved People's Liberation Army forces evoke feelings of patriotism among many Hong Kong residents.

Mr. Lee criticized the naval display today as unnecessary. "Nobody here wants independence, so there's absolutely no need for them to do this," he said.

Robert Karniol, the Asia-Pacific editor of Jane's Defense Weekly, said that today's naval display was consistent with the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, in which Britain acknowledged that China would have full responsibility for the defense of Hong Kong. The two guided-missile destroyers, the Shenzhen and the Harbin, that sailed past the office towers of central Hong Kong are among the more modern vessels in China's fleet, he added.

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