It's not clear why Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa is jetting off to Washington quite so suddenly to meet President George W. Bush next Tuesday, but it will give the two leaders a chance to explain to each other their somewhat different priorities.

Mr Tung will outline his reasons for wanting quick expansion of US-China trade under normal terms; he considers it essential to the prosperity of Hong Kong and the region. And Mr Bush will emphasise the official American belief that the SAR must work harder to preserve and strengthen civil liberties if it hopes to retain the favour of foreign governments and investors - in other words, talk a little more about "two systems" rather than "one country" when describing the Hong Kong future.

Washington does consider the post-1997 record to be mainly positive. Yet there is also official concern about the local community's "commitment and willingness to stand up for its freedoms and rule of law", as US Consul-General Michael Klosson said earlier this year. In much of America, there's a sense the balance isn't quite right.

The Falun Gong issue illustrates the point. Most Americans would probably agree that its credo is somewhere between strange and incomprehensible, but they are less likely to call it evil or dangerous. So when Mr Tung puts more public emphasis on terminology used by Beijing propagandists than on stressing no punitive laws are needed here, US analysts wonder about his values.

The White House meeting may clear the air. Mr Tung could promise that, while Hong Kong is indeed a part of China, it will retain the separate identity so appealing to outside investors. And Mr Bush might make clear that, for credibility's sake, Hong Kong's leaders must be seen defending those freedoms that set it apart from the political insecurities and indoctrination campaigns that mark the mainland.

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