81.   Others say his wealth, individualism and contempt for authority puts Lai in tune with Hong Kong in its last days as a British colony.

82.   Resplendent in powdered wigs and robes, the leading barristers in this former British colony are questioning witnesses like Cheng about the art of ink dating and calligraphy analysis.

83.   Stocks in the former British colony tumbled as interest rates climbed and Peregrine Investment Holdings Ltd. teetered toward bankruptcy.

84.   Stocks in the former British colony tumbled as interest rates climbed and Peregrine Investment Holdings Ltd. said it was likely to go out of business.

85.   That decision damaged the prestige of the court, and stoked fears that the legal system in this former British colony was being whittled away under Chinese rule.

86.   That fanned fears in this former British colony that its legal system and autonomy were eroding under Chinese sovereignty.

87.   That meant that the Hong Kong dollar was overvalued relative to other Asian currencies, and it made this former British colony a relatively costly place to do business.

88.   That could be the future for Gibraltar, a tiny British colony on the southern tip of Spain.

89.   That fear is magnified in Hong Kong because the former British colony ties the value of its currency to the U.S. dollar.

90.   The assumption in Washington is that the handover of the British colony to China will go smoothly.