The term 'special administrative region' is not often used in everyday conversation. The nine-syllable phrase is too much of a mouthful. Much easier to speak just of 'Hong Kong'. But it is important to remember why the word 'special' is there. It reflects the intention that Hong Kong should be different to the rest of China. The city is, to use a dictionary definition, supposed to be 'distinct from others'. This principle lies at the heart of the 'one country, two systems' concept. It has, since the handover, generally been observed. But the borders between the two systems have started to fray at the edges over the last year - and especially in the last few weeks. If this is allowed to continue, the word 'special' will soon lose its meaning. Despite the best efforts of the Hong Kong people, the government seems intent on turning the city into a not-so-special administrative region. Three recent incidents illustrate the point. The first was the government's decision not to grant a visa to Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou. The popular Taiwanese politician was born in Hong Kong and has visited before. This time, he was due to participate in academic activities. No sensible reason has been given by the government to explain why he should not be allowed to visit. We are therefore left to speculate that it might be because of criticisms he made of the mainland's proposed anti-secession law. Or perhaps it was regarded as inappropriate for a Taiwanese politician to attend an event at which a former United States official was also speaking. These are the sort of considerations we would expect to apply if Mr Ma was intending to visit the mainland. But in 'special' Hong Kong, they should pose no problem. We are an open, international city. Visiting politicians are usually welcome (former Philippine president Joseph Estrada got a visa - and he is facing serious corruption charges). Immigration is also one of the areas which falls within our autonomy under the Basic Law. Government hints that it was carrying out Beijing's orders by refusing to grant a visa to Mr Ma therefore only blur the dividing lines even further. Then there is the case of the two Public Security Bureau officers arrested in June in Mount Davis Road, Pokfulam. The evidence may be circumstantial but it points to their having been on an unauthorised, covert surveillance operation in Hong Kong. No one has suggested that this would be anything other than a flagrant breach of the borders between the two systems. But no action has been taken against them and the government appears to be content to accept the laughable explanation given by the Guangdong authorities. We are asked to believe that the security officers were just sightseeing in Hong Kong while on holiday here (on Mount Davis Road in the dark?) And that one was only in possession of a pair of handcuffs because he had forgotten to leave them at the police station on the other side of the border. How special can Hong Kong be if mainland security officers are able to slip into the city to pursue investigations whenever they feel like it? Finally, there is the fuss over an attempt by pro-democracy lawmakers to hold a minute's silence to mark the death of purged former Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang . Like it or not, Zhao's death is a sensitive issue on the mainland. It is up to the central government to decide how memorial events will be handled there. But Hong Kong should surely be free from such sensitivities. Our values and our way of life are different. That is what being 'special' is all about. The 'one country, two systems' concept protects these differences. It gives Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy, a separate system and preserves our different way of life. This is not just in Hong Kong's interests, it is for the benefit of China. The late Basic Law Drafting Committee chairman Ji Pengfei paid much attention to Hong Kong's differences when explaining the Basic Law to the National People's Congress in 1990. But the differences can easily be eroded. They need to be vigorously defended by the government. Sadly, the Tung administration rarely makes a stand. In his policy address, Mr Tung seemed more concerned with persuading people not to hold views different to the central government's. Hong Kong's value to China depends on it being different. Let us not cease to be a 'special' administrative region. Cliff Buddle is a senior writer with the Post
