CHINA TOPIX

12/22/2024 04:42:11 pm

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China Bluntly Reminds Hong Kong Who is Boss

(Photo : Reuters)

China's has issued a white paper on Tuesday clarifying its "one country, two systems" policy over Hong Kong, a blunt reminder that Beijing was in charge of the city's affairs regardless of talks about political reform.

The white paper says the implementation of the  "one country, two systems" principle in Hong Kong has achieved a widely recognized success.

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This only proves that the policy is the best institutional arrangement for the lasting prosperity and stability of Hong Kong after its return to the motherland, it said.

The policy was set forth by the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in the early 80s to realize the peaceful reunification of the country.

Under the policy, the mainland adheres to socialist system while Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan may retain their capitalist system indefinitely, but the premise is that there is only one China.

The white paper was also thankful to the policy as Hong Kong was able to exercise a high degree of autonomy in accordance with the law, making it continuously prosper and its society stable.

However, two experts familiar with Beijing's policies toward the city believe that the State Council's white paper on Hong Kong shows the determination of Beijing to maintain control amidst the debate over political reform.

Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, says he expected Beijing to become more involved in guiding the city's governance.

The debate about political change, according to Lau, especially the best way to honor the universal suffrage promised when the city elects its chief executive in 2017 had prompted Beijing to issue the document.

The white paper was released less than a week after tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered at Victoria Park to honor the freedom-fighters killed by Chinese troops in the bloody crackdown on Tiananmen Square 25 years ago..

The June 4 anniversary, a sensitive date for the communist party, came as the city was locked in a debate regarding full autonomy and even independence for Hong Kong.

Beijing needed to establish its unquestioned authority over Hong Kong by issuing the paper, as residents debate the meaning and the flexibility of the "one country, two systems" concept which has allowed a freer capitalist city to grow within socialist China.

"Many Hong Kong people have the misconception that the central government's power over Hong Kong is confined to foreign affairs and national defence. Some even try to downplay Beijing's jurisdiction over Hong Kong," said Jiang Shigong, Deputy Director of Peking University's Centre for Hong Kong and Macau Studies.

Jiang says this was the first time since the 1997 handover that Beijing came out with an official document on  its authority over Hong Kong.

Some Hongkongers are confused and lopsided in their understanding of the two systems policy, the white paper said.

There are those who see it as a direct attack on the plan by Occupy Central to stage a large protest in the business district.

No date has yet been set by the group for its protest, but is organising an unofficial vote on three plans for conducting the 2017 election.

That vote is scheduled for June 20-22.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying dismissed the idea that the white paper was intended to discourage people from taking part in Occupy Central's "referendum".

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