One country, two systems

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Chinese authorities defended the decision as necessary for returning stability to Hong Kong. Outside of mainland China, most commentators lamented the new law as a heavy-handed effort by Beijing to impose its authoritarian impulses on Hong Kong. They warned that by eroding Hong Kong’s unique attributes — its free speech, free assembly, and legal transparency — Chinese authorities were mortgaging Hong Kong’s dynamism in pursuit of greater societal control. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/07/17/why-now-understanding-beijings-new-assertiveness-in-hong-kong/

Ryan Hass

The Michael H. Armacost Chair

Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for East Asia Policy Studies, John L. Thornton China Center

Interim Chen-Fu and Cecilia Yen Koo Chair in Taiwan Studies

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A spokesperson for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said Tuesday that it will never allow any illegal manipulation in the Legislative Council (LegCo) election in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The spokesperson condemned the so-called "primaries" recently organized by the opposition camp in Hong Kong, saying that such acts have constituted illegal manipulation of the LegCo election and posed a blatant challenge to the HKSAR Basic Law and the national security law for the HKSAR. http://en.people.cn/n3/2020/0714/c90000-9710500.html

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“Given the PRC’s track record under Xi Jinping, it is hard to see how the NSL is anything other than the death knell of 1C2S,” Flaherty said. https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-07-13-hong-kongs-new-security-law-ends-one-country-two-systems-philosophy-and-judicial-independence/#gsc.tab=0

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The Hong Kong government has confirmed the Chinese version of the new
national security law will prevail over the English translation in the event of any discrepancy between the two, in a marked departure from the city’s official language policy which gives equal weight to both languages. But the move was sharply criticised by one lawyer, who noted discrepancies between the two versions, adding he had never seen such a poorly drafted piece of legislation. A retired judge admitted he was having difficulty understanding the English version. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3091894/national-security-law-chinese-version-prevail-over?utm_medium=email&utm_source=mailchimp&utm_campaign=enlz-scmp_today&utm_content=20200706&MCUID=3d06933c40&MCCampaignID=b4fe027d11&MCAccountID=3775521f5f542047246d9c827&tc=9

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Regina Ip

Ip: The death of "One Country, Two systems" has become a cliche. The foreign media has said at the time, before 1997, the Fortune magazine forecast the death of Hong Kong. But we have always bounced back. I think the past few decades because of Hong Kong's reunification, reabsorption into China, many have predicted that our separate lifestyle, separate systems will cease to exist. In fact, in the past 40 years, there have been many crises of confidence and brain drain, people trying to emigrate. But those who left have all come back. The money which left has come back. Hong Kong continued to be prosperous and successful, despite some short-term setbacks. So I believe that, in spite of some short-term worries about this new legislation, with the nation's backing for Hong Kong, we will be able to bounce back economically, socially, and internationally. https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-07-01/The-West-s-fake-narrative-about-HK-national-security-law-RGEdED8pSo/index.html

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Under a One Country, Two Systems agreement before the 1997 handover by Britain, China said it would let Hong Kong maintain certain liberties and autonomy until 2047 — including legislative and judicial independence. Deng’s comments are the first time a Beijing official has made clear that mainland authorities will have jurisdiction over some national security cases once the law is passed. Beijing’s rubber-stamp parliament has said the law will allow mainland security agencies to operate publicly in Hong Kong for the first time. Deng gave some details on Monday. “Both the central government and the Hong Kong government need to set up an organization dedicated to safeguard national security,” he said in a speech to the semiofficial Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies think tank. Central authorities, he said, would “supervise and instruct” local authorities on enforcing national security. https://www.courthousenews.com/china-will-handle-some-hong-kong-security-cases/

jun20 a importabncia do resultado eleitoral para determinar

A June poll by the Hong Kong-based newspaper Ming Pao reveals that 64 per cent of respondents believe the national security law damages the ‘one country, two systems’ model. Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement also considers this the end of the governing model. They argue that the law was imposed without consulting Hongkongers, completely bypassing the local legislature.
As demanded by the pro-democracy movement, the Trump administration accepted the argument that the ‘one country, two systems’ model had been terminated and signalled its intention to withdraw privileges granted to the territory. This will hurt Hong Kong’s economy, though the pro-democracy movement is willing to pay the price too.


Joseph Yu Shek Cheng is a retired professor of political science based in Hong Kong. https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2020/06/24/the-end-of-one-country-two-systems/