Minky Worden - special assistant, Martin C.M. Lee, Q.C., leader of the pro-democracy movement in China; executive officer, Democratic Party of Hong Kong; spokesman for the people of Hong Kong to the Chinese government; helped orchestrate Democratic Party election victories-1996. 

Thank you for this award, which I am honored to receive. Patrick Henry has always been one of my favorite figures in American history. When we think of his famous statement "give me liberty -- or give me death", we should also think of its importance to those outside the U.S. and of the beacon of hope the United States has long provided to freedom fighters around the world.

Today in America, we have our liberty and argue essentially about the finer points. In Hong Kong, people value their freedom above al

l else, but they're fighting a real battle to preserve the democracy, basic rights and the rule of law so often taken for granted in the U.S.

For example, when I worked in Washington, D.C., at the Department of Justice (by coincidence my first job at Justice was in the Patrick Henry building), I regularly wrote about the rule of law. But, it was only when I moved to Hong Kong, where our rule of law is under siege from China, that I truly understood what the phrase meant. In China, the courts serve the Communist Party (in fact, most of the judges are retired officers of the People's Liberation Army) and "justice" all too often has meant a show trial or a bullet in the back of the head.

In Hong Kong, I work for Martin Lee, the leader of the pro-democracy movement and the party he heads, the Democratic Party. (I should perhaps explain here that in Hong Kong's political nomenclature, a liberal democrat is what we in the U.S. would call a conservative Republican). Despite threats from China, the democrats have tremendous public support and have won every election Hong Kong has ever had. Indeed, if Hong Kong were a country, Martin Lee would have been its Prime Minister since 1991.

On July 1, the former British colony was transferred to the People's Republic of China. In addition to the land, Hong Kong's six and a half million citizens -- most first or second-generation refugees from Communist repression -- were made part of China as well.

Beijing's first act on assuming sovereignty was to abolish the legislature and all elected institutions in Hong Kong. The leaders I presently work with were all thrown out of the legislature and replaced by those they defeated in the last elections.

In the U.S., we may not always agree about how our democracy works. Indeed, I suppose this is one of the attributes of democracy. But we have never had our system of representative government wiped out overnight.

Once an American visitor asked me what it was like to work for Martin Lee. After thinking about it, I said it was like having an opportunity to work for Thomas Jefferson. Also, I do think there are clear connections between America and Hong Kong -- both are magnificent free societies built by determined immigrants.

In fact, I value my work because I believe it is vital for Hong Kong to survive as a model for Asia and the rest of the world. Hong Kong people are like Americans in that they are an immigrant community. They share the core values of Americans: hard work, the rule of law, family values, education, optimism and freedom. Indeed, Hong Kong's success story proves what free people and free markets refereed by the rule of law can achieve, and provides lessons for America as well.

In Hong Kong, we have a flat tax rate of 15% which is both low and progressive. Wealth creation is not stigmatized, but respected. Hong Kong's crime rate is extremely low -- no one fears walking anywhere at night, largely because the impartial common law justice system ensures criminals are almost always caught, tried, sentenced and imprisoned. Moreover, as Americans come to terms with the U.S.-China relationship, one of the best ways to understand the future of China is through the prism of Hong Kong.

While I support U.S. efforts to create legal and political institutions where they do not exist around the world, I believe that it should be much easier to preserve the rule of law and freedom where they already exist, and where courageous citizens have demonstrated so clearly that they are not prepared to give up their liberty. Hong Kong is a place where the world community can draw a line in the sand and protect the values that so many American and Hong Kong Chinese people share.

Now, as part of China, it is still not clear whether Hong Kong can protect its freedoms under Communist rule, continue to spur the economic liberalization of China and maintain its role as the heart of the Pacific Rim. It is clear, however, that what the democratic and free Hong Kong and its leaders are fighting for is the world's best hope for re-making China -- and indeed all of Asia -- in Hong Kong's free and prosperous image.

Once again, I thank you for this award -- and most important, the support for Hong Kong's fight that this honor signifies.

This address was delivered to the Council for National Policy in Charleston, South Carolina in October, 1997.