Hong Kong’s Election is Proof that ‘One Country, Two Systems’ is Alive and Well
Posted: September 8, 2016 Filed under: Asia, China, Global, Politics | Tags: 2014 Hong Kong protests, Beijing, China, Demosistō, Deng Xiaoping, Government of China, Hong Kong, Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Hong Kong people, Legislative council, Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Mao Zedong, Nathan Law, People's Liberation Army, Xi Jinping Leave a comment
Ilaria Maria Sala writes: The bizarre “One Country, Two Systems” formula under which Hong Kong has been ruled since its handover to Beijing in 1997 has been declared dead many times—but last Sunday’s elections may just have proven its remarkable resilience.
“In many ways, the combination of Hong Kong with China has been like a marriage between two near-strangers, one of whom was brought to the altar without being asked their opinion, and where the power balance is fatally skewed.”
Invented by China’s former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping for China to govern Hong Kong, it was a bold and imperial idea. By allowing Hong Kong to retain its partially democratic system and freedom of expression, it would let the far away “province” govern itself, as long it remained loyal to the center.
“Leaders in Beijing are obsessed with control, and national identity in China is increasingly defined as supporting the Communist Party.”
The current Chinese government has more desire to control and more technology to do so than Deng or the emperors used to, but Hong Kongers are nevertheless guaranteed the right to vote in partial elections, freedom of speech and press, and an independent judiciary, rights citizens on the mainland only wish for.
Exclusive: punditfromanotherplanet Hong Kong Bureau
“The sudden, unlawful arrest of dissidents is no surprise in China, but nothing of the kind had ever happened in Hong Kong.”
In many ways, the combination of Hong Kong with China has been like a marriage between two near-strangers, one of whom was brought to the altar without being asked their opinion, and where the power balance is fatally skewed. Hong Kong, with its long-held democratic aspirations and millions of residents who had fled Communist rule on the mainland, was never going to be an easy addition to China. Leaders in Beijing are obsessed with control, and national identity in China is increasingly defined as supporting the Communist Party.
[Read the full story here, at Quartz]
Unsurprisingly, “One Country Two Systems” has been under severe stress in recent years. Read the rest of this entry »
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