China officially resumed exercise of sovereign rule over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, the day the Communist Party of China turned 76. That may or may not be a coincidence, but the smooth return of Hong Kong to the motherland makes a shining achievement of the CPC thanks to its epic creation of the “one country, two systems” policy, which was introduced in the 1980s and officially adopted in the 1990s. Soon the CPC will celebrate its 100th anniversary on July 1, when the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region turns 24, a public holiday in Hong Kong but more than an anniversary to celebrate.
Luo Huining, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR, delivered on Saturday a keynote speech at the Forum on the CPC and “One Country, Two Systems” here in Hong Kong. In the speech, Luo stated, “Given the intense confrontation between the opposing camps of socialism and capitalism back then, it took an exceptional level of broad-mindedness and courage to achieve a political resolution such as the arrangement of ‘One Country, Two Systems’. The question is still valid today: Is there any other ruling party in the world that allows the coexistence of two different social systems within one country? This great model of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ subverted the conventional wisdom that lost territories can only be reclaimed by force. It embodies the political wisdom of the CPC, and contributes a splendid China chapter to the history of political civilization.”
Speaking of history, we have seen numerous examples of Western prejudice against China and the CPC in particular. In this case some Western powers, led by the US and the UK, have been accusing the CPC of undermining “one country, two systems” because they want to continue using Hong Kong as a pawn against the Chinese mainland. Their logic goes like this: Although the CPC created “one country, two systems”, it should not be allowed to oversee or supervise the exercise of this innovative policy in Hong Kong. Imagine a mother has just found a child who was lost for many years and, in order to let the child adapt to a new environment with minimum discomfort, let the child maintain his/her previous lifestyle as much as possible. That decision prompted some neighbors to claim she might as well give up legal custody of her child in the name of “freedom” (in the HKSAR’s case, Beijing is asked to give up overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong for the sake of its high degree of autonomy).
It is a foregone conclusion that the great majority of Hong Kong compatriots will find their sense of belonging with the motherland growing stronger as the latter forges ahead toward becoming a socialist and powerful modern country. In the process, they will gain common understanding with the CPC on more and more matters, including what it takes to be a proud Chinese national
At 24 the HKSAR is still young. Like most if not all youths, a 24 year old cannot help but make mistakes or go astray every now and then, and Hong Kong is no exception. Between July 1, 1997, and June 2020, the HKSAR had painful experiences when it went off track of implementing “one country, two systems”, “Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong” and a high degree of autonomy. In most cases, mistakes were made because people got used to “wrongs without consequences”. The anti-extradition protests that turned into the “black revolution” in 2019 stood out as an extreme example of anti-China forces gone berserk to challenge “one country, two systems” in violation of the Basic Law and other laws, the duration and destructiveness of which we had never seen before.
What caused the situation in Hong Kong to deteriorate to such a grave point? Now we know it was the all-out efforts of external forces to seize the governing power of Hong Kong through their proxies in the region. And they knew the CPC would never tolerate such subversive behavior. It is fair to say the exercise of “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong has been part of the CPC’s ongoing wrestle with the anti-China forces for control over Hong Kong. The National Security Law for Hong Kong took effect immediately after the National People’s Congress Standing Committee completed its promulgation on June 30, 2020. Last month the HKSAR completed the necessary local legislation to improve the region’s electoral system. These two legislative milestones mark Hong Kong’s return to implementing “one country, two systems” as the political invention was originally intended.
In his keynote speech, Luo points out, “… to advance the cause of ‘One Country, Two Systems’, it is imperative to uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China. It is a historical fact that without the leadership of the CPC there would be no New China, or socialism with Chinese characteristics. Neither would there be a smooth handover of Hong Kong, nor the prosperity and stability after its return.” His words best summarize the experience of exercising “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong since its return to the motherland.
It is a foregone conclusion that the great majority of Hong Kong compatriots will find their sense of belonging with the motherland growing stronger as the latter forges ahead toward becoming a socialist and powerful modern country. In the process, they will gain common understanding with the CPC on more and more matters, including what it takes to be a proud Chinese national.
It is safe to believe that, after plugging the statutory loophole in safeguarding national security and those in the old electoral system, the HKSAR will be much better equipped to handle challenges to the nation’s sovereignty, national security and development interests in the future, as well as facilitate the overall jurisdiction over the HKSAR by the central authorities, so as to ensure Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability and the freedoms and democratic rights of Hong Kong residents.
The hypocrites in Washington and London are expected to continue their smear campaign against China in the days to come, but they cannot stop Hong Kong from adding new pages of shining success to the annals of exercising “one country, two systems” no matter how hard those haters try to sabotage it.
The author is a senior research fellow of China Everbright Holdings.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.