In Focus: Strategic Investments; July 1997; Scientific American Magazine; by Fluendy; 2 Page(s)

They are going to paint the British-style red postboxes green in Hong Kong--to match those of China. It is a small but visible sign of the enormous changes that July 1, 1997, will bring to this 400-squaremile territory on the southern tip of China. Hong Kong, ceded to the U.K. in 1842 as a result of the Opium War, is to be handed back to China at midnight on June 30.

The world¿s press has been full of stories, with most concentrating on whether Hong Kong¿s Western-style freedoms will be preserved. But China prefers to see Hong Kong as an economic city, and leaders of both regions are paying less attention to constitutional developments and instead rethinking Hong Kong¿s industrial strategy.