CHINESE SHIPPING TYCOON TO LEAD HONK KONG.

Byline: The New York Times

A tough-talking shipping magnate was confirmed on Wednesday as China's choice to administer Hong Kong when 150 years of British colonial rule end next July 1.

In a pageant of political theater and Chinese Communist choreography, 400 of Hong Kong's business and pro-China elite carefully chosen by Beijing solemnly marked yellow ballots giving the magnate, Tung Chee-hwa, a 59-year-old native of Shanghai, the formal endorsement to succeed Britain's last governor here, Chris Patten.

As the first chief executive, as his post will be known, C.H. Tung, or C.H. as he is widely called, will be the first Chinese to administer one of Asia's most successful economies, an economy that blossomed under British tutelage, a strict rule of law and a boisterous free press - all institutions alien to Chinese Communist rule.

But Tung, who first tasted politics while serving for four years in the Patten Cabinet, is now charged with executing Beijing's will here, and at the same time defend Hong Kong's interests.

For many here, the unanswered question is whether this man - a product of Western education with a career as a businessman and a passion for the San Francisco 49ers who now adamantly professes his Chinese patriotism - will turn out to be Hong Kong's champion or Beijing's puppet.

In some respects, Tung is inheriting the mantle of colonial rule to be left by the British governor. But in other ways his accession will mark a regression to a more authoritarian governance, one in which the role of the legislature - which now functions as something of a check on the executive branch - will be sharply diminished.

For China, the naming of Tung is a substantial step toward reasserting sovereignty over Hong Kong. And for Hong Kong it will be the first time that a local Chinese will administer the territory and its 6.2 million people.

With a fullback's build and a coiffure like the business end of a scrub brush, Tung accepted his new role in a brief, feisty encounter with reporters just moments after being confirmed as chief executive. His eagerness to start work was apparent, even though he will not take office for 202 days.

``For more than a century, Hong Kong has been a colony,'' declared Tung, who moves deftly from Cantonese to English and Mandarin. ``Now we are finally masters of our own house. I am fully confident about the future. I believe most of us are equally confident.''

``But I also know that there are those who are still apprehensive about Hong Kong post-1997,'' he continued. ``But let's bear in mind, we create our own path, and we earn our success through our own hard work. We must have confidence in ourselves.''

Since January, it has been apparent that Tung was Beijing's choice for Hong Kong. That he was largely unknown here was clearly not important to Beijing. But Tung has labored long and hard, particularly in the last two months, to acquaint himself with Hong Kong.