China must give Hong Kong leaders leeway to reach a compromise with protesters or face continued unrest in the city, former governor Chris Patten said on Tuesday. “In order to have a resolution the Chinese government needs to make it clear that they still believe in the treaty which was signed by Britain,” he told AFP, referring to the 1985 agreement that led to Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule in 1997. Under the deal, Hong Kong was allowed to keep its unique freedoms for 50 years.
