Hong Kong’s ‘one country, two systems’ framework is more likely to stay if the mainland benefits from it too

While the government will not tolerate advocacy of Hong Kong independence, the city still enjoys freedom of speech and the independence of the judiciary. The current system may continue after 2047, if it remains of service to both Hong Kong and the mainland

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Supporters of Hong Kong independence take part in a protest on National Day, marching from Causeway Bay to the government headquarters in Tamar, Admiralty, on October 1, 2018. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 1:29pm, 25 Apr 2019Updated: 8:00pm, 25 Apr 2019

I was recently interviewed on the BBC World Service Hardtalk current affairs show. The interviewer was particularly interested in Hong Kong and “one country, two systems”. Much of the questioning was essentially about Hong Kong’s autonomy, and whether it is being eroded.

If you follow overseas press coverage of Hong Kong, you will be aware that this is now a fairly common angle. Overseas media give the general impression that Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms have been declining in recent years.

This is disturbing, as it is genuinely affecting Hong Kong’s reputation. At one point the interviewer told me she had spoken to international businesspeople who had raised concerns about Hong Kong’s rule of law and freedom of speech. I had to agree with her – I have had exactly the same experience talking with counterparts in the business community overseas. I also tried to assure her that these worries are overstated.

It is not hard to see why this impression may be catching on. Since the Occupy protests over four years ago, a small number of radicals have started to call for Hong Kong independence – or at least suggest some sort of separation of Hong Kong from China.

Any such separation is specifically ruled out under the constitution. While there is no law against discussing the idea, the central government in Beijing cannot accept people actively challenging China’s sovereignty by promoting separation. Such activity is, to use their phrase, crossing a “red line”.

The result is that some lawmakers have been disqualified, some candidates have been ruled ineligible to stand for election, and one organisation has been banned. The international media – which usually do not cover Hong Kong very much – have reported these measures quite extensively.