Opinion | To win the ‘battle for Hong Kong’, Beijing must stop treating it as just another Chinese city

Hongkongers will not stand for the routine style of mainland governance. There is enough flexibility in the ‘one country, two systems’ model for peaceful relations, as long as the central government can loosen its grip

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Published: 9:00am, 2 Jul 2019Updated: 9:03am, 2 Jul 2019

Beijing achingly wanted Hong Kong and, more than two decades ago, it got what it wanted. But is it that happy with its prize today? As the saying goes: be careful what you wish for in life, because you might actually get it.

The complex passions that ignited the political fireworks of recent weeks didn’t flame up overnight and won’t blow out of existence tomorrow. Whatever the true headcount of Hongkongers streaming onto the streets (whether anti-Beijing or pro, whether anti-police or pro), the scenes seared themselves onto smartphones and computer and TV screens across the globe.

One way or the other, one of the most significant political events in years and potentially one of the most historic will be known as the “Battle for Hong Kong”. And it is anything but played out.

We need to ask what next steps need to be taken after all that has happened since July 1997. We note, not without sympathy, that Beijing has to work the question of Hong Kong’s future against the backdrop of the current reality that relatively few people on the mainland love Hong Kong remotely as much as Hong Kong loves itself. Unfair statement? I don't think so.

The gut resentment over the perceived entitlement mentality of “snooty” Hongkongers is no secret; there may be more love in Kansas for New Yorkers. Beijing could remind everyone that little Hong Kong contributes to China a world of established cosmopolitanism, not to mention major sector utility in banking and finance. But governing Hong Kong was never going to be a simple matter.

This is where, long ago, a touch of political genius came in handy. Not enough observers in the West, especially after all this telegenic turmoil, ever fully appreciated the evolutionary political thought behind Deng Xiaoping’s “one country, two systems” instinct. Worse yet is whether his current successors really get it. The innovation was striking in the simplicity of its sophistication and pragmatism.