Central government officials yesterday criticized the "pro-democracy" bloc for its plan to seek foreign intervention in China's affairs, dubbing some democrats as "clowns".

Martin Lee and James To, from the Democratic Party, unionist lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan and Lo Yuk-kai, executive director of the Human Rights Monitor, are scheduled to attend the hearing of the Subcommittee on East Asian & Pacific Affairs of the Foreign Relations Committee of the US Senate at 2:30 pm on Thursday (local time).

"The problems of Hong Kong can only be solved within the big family of China. A tiny handful of people have always been at the foreigners' beck and call. They are just clowns," said Vice-Minister of Commerce An Min in Beijing yesterday. But he did not name any names, only saying that "everyone knows who they are".

Gao Siren, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong, also criticized those from the "pro-democracy" camp for lack of respect for the Chinese nation.

"Before the handover in 1997, someone said the British were handing over the six million Hong Kong citizens to Nazi rule. Is this respect for our nation? Is this support for the motherland's resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong?" he said in Beijing.

In response to Martin Lee's earlier remark expressing the wish to visit Beijing for talks, Gao said that he was "daydreaming".

He said the democrats have never cared about Hong Kong's economic development and people's livelihoods.

"To canvass for more votes, they make such performances. Whether they are patriotic or not, Hong Kong citizens should make a correct judgment," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office Chen Zuo'er said the recent political debate in Hong Kong will help local people reacquaint themselves with Deng Xiaoping's "One Country, Two Systems" theory.

He said that the constitutional development must proceed on a track set by the Basic Law.

In Hong Kong, the SAR government yesterday spoke out for the first time to criticize the three democrat legislators for attending the US Senate hearing.

Speaking at a Legislative Council meeting, Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam spelt out loud and clear that constitutional development is an internal affair of China and the Hong Kong SAR.

He urged foreign governments and congresses to respect the fact that the SAR government would deal with this issue in accordance with the Basic Law and that they should not interfere.

"It is unnecessary for them (the democrats) to attend a hearing session of a foreign country's congress on Hong Kong's constitutional development. I think their decision is inappropriate and I am disappointed at it," he said.

At the same meeting yesterday, Lam also took a question from democrat Szeto Wah, who asked if there would be any patriotic benchmark tests to ensure "patriots as the main body running Hong Kong".

Lam replied that patriotism is not an examination and everyone should know very well if he fulfills the criteria of a patriot.

(HK Edition 03/04/2004 page2)