【明報專訊】VETERAN Hong Kong politician Chung Sze-yuen has passed away at the age of 101. Chung, who had been politically active for a few decades, was representative of the way of thinking of many political and business elites. During the 1980s when China and Britain were negotiating over the future of Hong Kong, Chung was at first resistant to Hong Kong's handover to China. However, he later supported the Sino-British Joint Declaration. From being compared to "an alienated minister and a child born to a concubine" to becoming the first convener of the Executive Council of the HKSAR, Chung experienced many twists and turns in his political career. To some extent Chung's political life reflected what Hong Kong people went through in their minds with regard to Hong Kong's handover to China. In 1984, Deng Xiaoping met Chung in Beijing and talked about "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong" and the issue of confidence. Today, in spite of the changes in circumstances, the "return of the people's hearts" and political trust are still the crux of the Hong Kong question. In those days the aspiration of society at large was to maintain the status quo. It is still Hong Kong people's aspiration.