China warned on HK democracy

HONG KONG (AFP) - The colony's government will remain executive- led, despite proposals to make it more democratic, the Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd, said yesterday.

But Mr Hurd, who is here on a three-day visit, also reaffirmed his commitment to talks with Peking about speeding up democratisation in the colony. He warned China not to use the dispute over the financing of Hong Kong's multi-billion dollar airport as a lever to limit moves towards democracy.

'There are proposals, there are counter-proposals. Let us settle this on its merits and not try . . . to link it with other matters,' he said.