Japan Spared From Having to Choose Sides : Diplomacy: Hong Kong governor doesn’t ask Tokyo to back his democratic reforms. Show of support could have hurt relations with China.

TOKYO —  Hong Kong Gov. Chris Patten on Thursday sidestepped the ticklish question of how far to push for Japanese support of his democratic reforms, sparing Tokyo from choosing sides in the sensitive dispute between the British colony and China.

In a meeting with Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, Patten outlined his reform proposals to expand direct legislative elections, which have drawn sharp protests from Beijing.

But he did not seek Tokyo’s explicit support, calling it a bilateral issue between Britain and China; Miyazawa said only that he “fully understands” the proposed reforms.

Patten, instead, focused on building stronger economic ties with Japan, Hong Kong’s largest foreign investor and third-largest trading partner.

And both Patten and Miyazawa urged President-elect Bill Clinton to consider the potential harm to Hong Kong if the United States were to revoke China’s preferential trading privileges.

Clinton has promised to link improvements in Beijing’s human rights record with its most-favored-nation trading status.

Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos reiterated the need for a “firmer hand” in American foreign policy toward Beijing this week after reports that China had suspended talks with the United States on human rights, possibly as a warning to the President-elect.

Beijing’s growing tensions with Hong Kong and Washington have put Tokyo in a delicate position.

As China’s largest foreign aid donor, Japan may be in the best position to influence Beijing on human rights. But Japan has generally refrained from wielding the stick.

Some observers have criticized Tokyo for putting its business interests first. Officials here, however, defend their approach, saying China’s economic development is the key toward securing basic human necessities.

Drawing a contrast with Russia, one Japanese official said that Beijing’s progress in raising living standards for its people is an important form of human rights.

At the same time, Tokyo has come under growing international expectations to play a larger role in supporting democratic movements. A few years ago, it announced a new policy of linking its foreign aid with arms control and democracy.

The two policy aims come to a head over the Hong Kong issue. “It’s a real dilemma,” a senior Japanese official said.

“We have to think about our relationship with China, and at the same time come out and support Patten,” the official said.

Another factor in persuading Japan to tread lightly, he said, is that public opinion in Hong Kong is still divided over Patten’s reforms.

Still, Masaki Arita, Japanese consul general in Hong Kong, has said his government welcomes Patten’s efforts to promote democracy, which many in Hong Kong interpreted to signal support of his reform package.

Japanese business confidence in Hong Kong appears steady. Bilateral trade, which totaled $18.3 billion in 1991, continues apace, growing 20% in the last eight months alone.

Japanese direct investment in Hong Kong also has grown steadily, from $2.9 billion in 1985 to $10.7 billion in 1991 and Hong Kong is Japan’s largest market in Asia after Indonesia, according to Japanese government statistics.