Hong Kong was the last remnant of European empire in East Asia. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll consider the legacy of colonialism, and the prospects for democracy in the Far East, from Hong Kong to Indonesia. Also, a first-person account of the killings in East Timor

SEGMENT 1

Historian John Keay tells Jim Fleming that trade was at the root of the European empires in Asia, and that East Asia's current economic boom is the result of its colonial past. Also, Carmel Budiardjo - founder and director of the Indonesian Human Rights Campaign in Britain - tells Steve Paulson about her experience of political repression under Indonesia's President Suharto. Budiarjo has published a memoir called "Surviving Indonesia's Gulag."

SEGMENT 2:

Indonesia invaded the neighboring island of East Timor in 1975 launching a series of human rights abuses that continue to this day. Constancio Pinto and Matthew Jardine, co-authors of "East Timor's Unfinished Struggle," tell Steve Paulson about the effects of the invasion and subsequent repression - including the massacre of political demonstrators - on the local population.

SEGMENT 3:

Don Emmerson teaches political science and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He tells Judith Strasser that Indonesia is too important to U.S. interests in Asia to allow East Timor to dominate the agenda. Emmerson is currently editing a book called "Indonesia Beyond Suharto."

• week of 07/13/97 - hour 1