A SHORT report carried in an inside page of the South China Morning Post at the weekend escalated yesterday into a dispute in Hong Kong over alleged special treatment for China's People's Liberation Army, 12 days before it assumes responsibility for the defence of the territory.
The newspaper said that an advance party of the PLA Hong Kong garrison was given special treatment after an altercation at the border, and that Maj Gen Zhou Borong dressed down customs officers for demanding his documents.
As a dozen protesters marched on the Prince of Wales Barracks in central Hong Kong, where some of the 200 advance guard and the major general are billeted, China played down the incident. It arose from a language problem, according to an official from the Chinese side on the Joint Liaison Group, a Sino British body handling Hong Kong's handover.
The protesters claimed, however, that the altercation was a sign that Chinese troops considered themselves above the law. A Democratic Party member, Mr Andrew To, who delivered a petition for the PLA to a British forces' representative, said it was "a very bad precedent for the PLA troops".
Members of the Legislative Council, which will be dissolved at midnight on June 30th, will question government officials on the matter at a special meeting tomorrow of the legislature's security panel, according to its chairman, Mr James To.
What particularly incensed the protesters was a report that Hong Kong customs now had instructions to exempt PLA cars with designated registrations from inspection.
The Governor, Mr Chris Patten, also played down the incident, saying "I am sure the PLA will want to set the best possible example and, if there are occasional early problems, I am sure the PLA will want to learn from them and avoid any future difficulties."
The small but noisy protest yesterday indicated that the Democratic Party, excluded from a say in the running of Hong Kong after the Legislative Council is replaced on July 1st by a proBeijing provisional legislature, intends to make itself heard during and after the handover period.
The party will stage a rally at the Legislative Council building from 10 p.m. on June 30th to 1 a.m. on July 1st, just a few blocks from where the official Sino British handover ceremony attended by British and Chinese leaders will be held, according to a party source.