Absolutely no winners have emerged from this. All sides have been damaged - the democrats, the government, Beijing and Hong Kong society in general.

The Democrats are going to have some tough resource issues this year. With the numbers in state government against them, the Democrats are just not a very good investment at this time.

The basic credibility of this government is really up for grabs and open for question without the Democrats doing anything but pointing a finger.

The New Democrats have called for that under the previous government, and will call for that again under this government.

This is simply an attempt by committee Democrats to clarify the factual record, where Mr. Starr was vague, evasive, forgetful or perhaps not altogether candid.

Bishop Joseph Zen's promotion to cardinal is a good thing for the tens of thousands of Catholics in Hong Kong. If Beijing reacts too strongly, it will lose popularity in Hong Kong.