Failing experiment?
Twenty-two years ago, when Deng Xiaoping's concept of 'one country, two systems' was incorporated into the Chinese constitution, that creative idea was meant to facilitate Taiwan's reunification with the mainland. However, because Britain brought up the 1997 issue, Deng decided to apply the concept to Hong Kong first, so that Taiwan could see for itself how well the formula worked.
Unfortunately, Deng died before Hong Kong's reversion to Chinese sovereignty, and so he did not live to see how his successors are applying the formula. While early on, Beijing exercised restraint, it has been much more heavy-handed recently.
And now, almost seven years after the handover, his idea has backfired. Instead of convincing Taiwan that it is a workable formula, it has done the opposite. The formula has been rejected by all the major political parties in Taiwan, not just by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
Much of the negative publicity regarding Hong Kong has been recent, stemming from events in the last year or so, beginning with the massive march by more than 500,000 people to protest over the government's bill to implement Article 23, which many people considered draconian. Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian explained recently in two foreign interviews how he, and other people in Taiwan, felt about 'one country, two systems'.
'People in Taiwan nowadays can freely elect, directly elect, [their leader],' he pointed out to The Washington Post, saying that 'it is unthinkable for people in Hong Kong to elect directly their chief executive'. He went on: 'Right now, the people of Hong Kong are fighting for direct elections for their chief executive and general elections for the entire legislature, but the Beijing authorities are unable to consent. They even say, 'wait another 30 years and we'll see.' I think this is very ridiculous.'
His words find resonance with many people in Hong Kong. They, too, do not understand why they cannot do things that are taken for granted in other societies, such as being able to choose their own representatives in the legislature or elect their chief executive. In particular, they feel that the goalposts are being moved.
In a way, Hong Kong's experiment with 'one country, two systems' has served its purpose, though not in the way Deng intended. Instead of convincing Taiwan that it is a workable formula for reunification, it has become a negative model, convincing Taiwan that it does not work in Hong Kong and will not work on the island. Ironically, Taiwan's democratic development since the 1980s has proved attractive to people in Hong Kong.
Of course, 22 years ago Taiwan was an authoritarian society and Hong Kong was under enlightened colonial rule. Deng could not have foreseen that Taiwan would develop so rapidly into a fully fledged, if still immature, democracy. Compared to Taiwan, Hong Kong lags way behind - and it is not being allowed to catch up.
It does not have to be that way. Perhaps it is going too far to say that 'one country, two systems' is a total failure. But it certainly has not lived up to Hong Kong people's expectations.
Beijing should be aware that its actions in Hong Kong to slow, if not halt, the development of democracy have not only strengthened Taiwan's rejection of 'one country, two systems'. They may even cause people in Hong Kong to have second thoughts about it as well. But, perhaps, Beijing no longer cares what people in Hong Kong think, considering that the city has already served its purpose of contributing to China's economic development and is no longer of much value.
Frank Ching is a Hong Kong-based journalist and commentator
