History teaches us that the process of decolonization often brings about bloody wars. Myanmar is a tragic example of how a country can suffer from internal chaos after achieving freedom from colonial rule. Meanwhile, Ukraine serves as a cautionary example of how after undergoing so-called color revolutions, a country can enter a downward spiral of poverty and chaos. Behind these events lie many visible and invisible foreign interventions. What happens in Afghanistan tells the world that it will be the common people who suffer the most from such unwanted meddling.
China was bullied by Britain during the Opium Wars and was forced to sign unequal treaties. Hong Kong was ceded to Britain, an unjust situation that was left unresolved until China and Britain began holding talks over the future of Hong Kong in September 1982. On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong ceased to be a British colony and China resumed exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, which became a special administrative region under the “one country, two systems” framework. “One country, two systems” was created with three original objectives in mind. First, China would resume exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong. Second, the handover had to be peaceful. Third, Hong Kong was to remain stable and prosperous. Under this unique system, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region enjoys a high degree of autonomy and greater freedoms than it did under British rule, with the people of Hong Kong continuing to live their lives the same way as before, with freedom of speech, freedom of movement and freedom to protest. These freedoms are captured by a popular saying in Hong Kong that “the horse races will continue to be run, the fox trot will continue to be danced, and the stocks will continue to be freely traded”. The handover of Hong Kong was a victory for peaceful resolution over the risk of war.
Western powers should realize that exerting unreasonable external pressure on China will only backfire and make Chinese people more united and determined to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity. “One country, two systems” is a creative historic product. Time will prove that “one country, two systems” is a herald of peace; also, it is a great contribution to the world as a solution to the hangovers from history
Hong Kong’s peaceful handover to China was a successful rectification of a historical wrong. Certainly, the fact that China has grown stronger in the international arena essentially forced Britain to accept the peaceful handover of Hong Kong under “one country, two systems”. In 1997, the capitalist system of Hong Kong had obvious and major differences with the socialist system adopted on the Chinese mainland. “One country, two systems” was created as a pragmatic and practical solution showing the courtesy and the generosity of Chinese leadership.
No political system in any country can override the people’s aspirations for peace and security. No such system should be forced on peoples with different histories and cultures. What matters is whether the political system is suitable or not, just as a dietary therapy may not be suitable for everyone. If the push for change from another country is out of selfishness or hegemony, no matter how nice the slogans sound, the result is bound to fail, thereby ruining the rule of law and destroying the country. That result will not be allowed by the Chinese people.
Democracy cannot be achieved by threatening peace, the rule of law, national security or undermining the welfare of the people.
American democracy may be catastrophic for others. The American model of democracy is not a tautology. When it is pushed onto countries of different cultures and histories, it is bound to fail. Afghanistan is a typical example of how the American model of democratization backfired, undercutting the objective for progress and development. It cost Afghanistan more bloodshed, leaving a splintered and scarred community. No sign of any droplet of American democracy is seen working at all. The unprepared and irresponsible withdrawal of American troops is seen by many as a betrayal of the Afghan people by the Americans’ lip service to democracy.
Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office Director Xia Baolong said on July 16 that national security is closely related to human rights. Law-abiding Hong Kong people understand this very well. In the name of freedom of speech or democracy, radicals glorified and rationalized terrorist attacks, deprived ordinary people’s freedom of expression and movement, taking away law and order.
British philosopher Bertrand Russell once said that Chinese people have what he termed a “pacific temper”, essentially a peaceful temperament. Yes, China may be a nation that is unique in the world in that it “refuses to wage war”. People’s Republic of China President Xi Jinping said basically the same thing and emphasized in his open speech in front of the world that the Chinese people are peace-loving people. In recent history, the Chinese people have suffered invasions from war-mongering countries and have had painful memories of the misery of war. “Democracy” is only a kind of ideal, but it is not a universal recipe for good government. First, Western societies should not force their democratic ideas wholesale on peoples with different histories and cultures. The unaccustomed chemical effect of inflicting different cultures and histories with spoon-fed Western-styled democracy is disastrous and hazardous to the world. Second, Western-style democracy is not working very well in its home countries. Unmanageable selfishness and abuse of liberties in many Western democratic countries have shown the inherent weakness of their systems in times of crisis.
The Chinese people have never invaded nor bullied anyone, focused only on working hard and seeking a good life. We have had enough of external meddling. Western powers should realize that exerting unreasonable external pressure on China will only backfire and make Chinese people more united and determined to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity. “One country, two systems” is a creative historic product. Time will prove that “one country, two systems” is a herald of peace; also, it is a great contribution to the world as a solution to the hangovers from history.
The author is a barrister-at-law and a legislative councilor of the HKSAR.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.