MR Chris Patten, Hong Kong's governor, yesterday gave China until the end of the year to accept his proposals for the colony's political development or to present alternatives that would be acceptable to the people of Hong Kong. After more than six hours of discussions with Lu Ping, director of the Chinese cabinet's office of Hong Kong and Macao affairs, Mr Patten said: 'I cannot say we reached a meeting of minds on what I put forward.' He also indicated that they achieved little progress in settling the impasse over the financing of Hong Kong's new airport project. Mr Patten said that they had agreed the best forum for settlement was the Airport Committee of the Anglo-Chinese Joint Liaison Group - a place where consensus has been stalled for months. This is Mr Patten's first visit to China as governor of Hong Kong. He leaves for the colony tomorrow after discussions today with Chinese trade officials. It emerged last night that Li Peng, China's prime minister, had refused to see him. Instead he will meet Qian Qichen, China's foreign minister. On October 7, Mr Patten presented plans for the conduct of the colony's 1994 local and 1995 legislative elections which provide for much greater democracy than has previously been the case in Hong Kong. In considering alternatives to these plans, the governor said he was guided by three principles. They should be 'fair', 'open and honest', and 'acceptable to the people of Hong Kong', he said. Mr Patten said that he was prepared to meet Lu 'at any time and in any place' to reach agreement but had reminded the Chinese they had only until the end of the year. He said the legislative timetable demanded that bills be put before the Legislative Council (LegCo), the colony's unicameral legislature, early in the new year to give effect to the planned changes for the 1994 and 1995 elections. Although Mr Patten did not say so yesterday, he has suggested in the past that he would be prepared to introduce his proposals for a slightly faster pace of democratic development in Hong Kong without China's approval. He went out of his way, however, to praise Lu - the man who holds day-to-day responsibility for ensuring a smooth transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997. He lauded the manner in which Lu put forward China's position but was less than pleased with what he had to say. Mr Patten would give only few details of Lu's response to his proposals. He said that Lu pointed out the existence of the Basic Law - the Beijing-drafted constitution for Hong Kong post-1997. (This has become Chinese code for 'no change'.) 'I am bound to say I don't think this answers some of the problems I have to disentangle before the end of this year,' the governor said. His visit has been preceded by a barrage of criticism of himself and his proposals, in the pro-Beijing Hong Kong press, not seen since the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and early 1970s. Mr Patten's defeat in the British parliamentary election earlier this year has been used to suggest he is a failed politician.
Hong Kong Governor Patten pressed China to accept his proposals for the Colony 's political development or make alternatives . No meeting of the minds emerged after long discussions between Patten and Lu Ping , director of China 's office of Hong Kong and Macau Affairs . The impasse is over the financing of a new airport project , stalled in the Airport Committee of the Anglo - Chinese Joint Liaison Group . China 's Prime Minister , Li Peng has refused to meet with Patten , who has in the past suggested that he would be prepared to propose a faster pace of democratic development in Hong Kong without China 's approval .