The gerontocracy in Peking does not like democracy at all, and has reacted angrily today to a proposed data protection law in Hong Kong: the Hong Kong government, under pressure from legislators wanting a freedom of information act, has outlined plans for a data protection law granting people access to information stored about them in computers, and proposed a code of conduct setting out what information government departments should make accessible to the public; Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang charged that the measures would change the way government departments work, which is detrimental to Hong Kong’s smooth transition from British to Chinese rule, and accused Britain of not consulting China before announcing the measures, calling it an unacceptable violation of the Anglo-Chinese treaty ceding the Colony.
