The case for extending Hong Kong's 2047 deadline
Stephanie Cheung says a 100-year extension of 'one country, two systems' beyond 2047 would promote mutual understanding and give Hong Kong's political system extra time to mature
If we imagine the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to be a person, by 2017 when he celebrates his 20th birthday, he will have the chance of participating in universal suffrage for the chief executive, and by 2018 (when he's 21), to vote in all his lawmakers. Even if 2017 slips by without universal suffrage, he may well have a vote by 2022, when he turns 25. This will realise his dream of being able to vote for a chief executive he trusts to govern Hong Kong in the way he wishes, and also to vote for his choice of legislative councillors.
Four years later, he will have learnt from their performances which politicians to trust, and which to spurn at the next elections; and in another five years, how to size up and choose a chief executive.
As he matures through his thirties, he accumulates experience and learns the ways of politicians, based on which he calibrates the political system, so that it could more effectively achieve the results the community wishes.
Yet in his forties, looking ahead to 2047 when he will be 50, he has to start planning and adjusting to the big change ahead when "one country, one system" will arrive and the Basic Law will expire. Electoral rights, freedom of speech, travel, conscience, from arbitrary arrest and presumption of innocence, to name just a few things, would no longer be guaranteed. Such a momentous change to his way of life and underlying values would call for early preparation, stealing from him precious time, energy and resources in the prime of his life which could otherwise be devoted to economic development, and perfecting the arrangement.
Contrast this with a 100-year extension for "one country, two systems". Such a new lease of life would provide him with maximum opportunity to make changes, fine-tune the system, and develop home-grown enlightened leaders at an unhurried pace. This is the substantive long-term merit of the proposal for extension.
In addition to the above, there are strategic advantages for discussing this proposal at this juncture.
Firstly, the current mood of Hong Kong is pessimistic, whether from shell shock over the umbrella protests or from the way the government is running Hong Kong. The community is fatigued. Constitutional reform lacks impetus. Trust in the government is at an all-time low. The better-off are contemplating emigration.