Byron S.J. Weng, professor of government and public administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and member of the Mainland Affairs Council, Executive Yuan -- which guides Taiwan's policy toward mainland China -- will deliver three Messenger Lectures at Cornell University this fall.

The theme of the lectures is "China's 'One Country, Two Systems' Policy and Its Implications for Sino-American Relations." All lectures are free and open to the public.

The lectures are:

• Mon., Sept. 30, "'One Country, Two Systems' and the Hong Kong 1997 Transition," 4:30 p.m., Room 700, Clark Hall;
• Wed., Oct. 2, "Between Beijing and Taipei: Politics of a Divided Nation," 4:30 p.m., Room 165, McGraw Hall; and
• Thurs., Oct. 3, "Sino-American Relations and the Question of Taiwan," 4:30 p.m., Room 165, McGraw Hall.

In the first lecture, where he'll be introduced by Cornell President Hunter Rawlings, Weng will provide a critical analysis of the Beijing proposition to have two contradictory systems of governance in one country. "'One country, two systems' refers to Beijing's policy for national unification involving the three territories of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau," Weng said recently from his Hong Kong office. "Beijing already has decided that Hong Kong will practice capitalism for 50 years after July 1, 1997, while the mainland will continue to practice socialism. On the surface, the 'one country, two systems' policy simply means that for a period of time, one or all of the three territories will have autonomy, and each will practice a system different from that of China as a whole. Deep down, it is seen as a strategy to subjugate the governments and peoples of the territories concerned."

In his Oct. 2 lecture, Weng will turn to Beijing's Taiwan policy and Taipei's mainland policy since 1979 and will consider these policies from an international perspective. The following day he'll examine Sino-American relations since 1979 and will take a new look at Taiwan in the post--Cold War era, with particular attention to U.S. policy options. He also will address these topics at informal gatherings with Cornell students and faculty.

Weng is uniquely positioned to make these presentations, having served as a consultant to leaders in both Hong Kong and Taiwan. He was a member of the Hong Kong Law Reform Commission from 1985 through 1991 and a part-time member of the Hong Kong government's Central Policy Unit from 1992 to 1994. He frequently gives lectures to high-level personnel of the Civil Service Training Centre and Judicial Studies Board of the Hong Kong Supreme Court.

On Taiwan he has been a member of the Mainland Affairs Council since 1993. In 1994 he helped the council produce the initial draft of the Hong Kong-Macau Relations Act, and in March 1995 he was appointed a research member of the National Unification Council by Taiwan President and Cornell alumnus Lee Teng-hui.

The editor or co-editor of seven books and author of over 100 articles, Weng received his master's and doctoral degrees in political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his law degree from National Taiwan University. He has served as vice president of the Law Teachers Association of Hong Kong and president of the International Law Association, Hong Kong Branch, and is currently secretary of the Chinese Law Programme for the Hong Kong Institute for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Lee C. Lee, a Cornell professor of developmental psychology and of Asian studies, met Weng when she was a Fulbright professor in Hong Kong and attended many of his public lectures, which she said "were always clear and eloquently provocative."

"Having lived and taught in Hong Kong since the mid-1970s -- observing first-hand the process of political change -- he is perhaps the most experienced observer of East-West encounters and also the most insightful," Lee added, noting that Weng has been widely quoted in such publications as Time, Newsweek, Business Week, the Asian Wall Street Journal and the South China Morning Post.

Weng summarized the points he will make at his Cornell lectures this way: "One, that the 'one country, two systems' policy is a new challenge for both theoreticians and practitioners of constitutional law and international law; two, that the concept of sovereignty and the international system based on that concept need to be changed in order to adequately address the question of divided nations; and three, that academics and policy-makers alike should beware that the U.S. policy toward China, Taiwan and Hong Kong will have a significant impact on the future development of the international system."

The Messenger Lectures were established in 1924 by a gift from Hiram Messenger, who graduated from Cornell in 1880, with the intent to raise the moral standards of political, business and social life. Weng's lectures at Cornell are being cosponsored by the Cornell Law School and the East Asia Program.