My Take | Hong Kong: a failed political experiment
- The city’s ‘one country, two systems’ formula, billed as the model to reunify Taiwan with the mainland, has only succeeded in putting both sides off
Few things in life ever go as planned, for people as for nations. “One country, two systems”, the basis on which Hong Kong was returned to China, is supposed to be the model to reunify Taiwan with the mainland.
Instead, what has been happening in Hong Kong – the ongoing crisis is only the latest instance – has hardened democratic commitments on the island and nationalist sentiments on the mainland. The three places are drifting more apart than ever.
For most mainlanders, “two systems” really doesn’t work. As far as they are concerned, Beijing can pamper Hong Kong people and give them preferential treatment, goodies that people on the mainland can only dream of, and they will still turn around and spit in your face. They call mainland Chinese locusts and Chi-na men, which is worse than Chinamen from Westerners, because it was what Japanese imperialists called Chinese during World War II.
Here’s an interesting tirade from Barry Ma, an online political commentator, that you can watch on BarryMa TV, on YouTube. It rather captures the feelings of many young people in Hong Kong.
In the clip, he was working himself into a paroxysm and had to stand up to shout at the top of his voice.
“I would rather be the fly feeding on British s*** than to be an accursed Chi-na dog. You slaves, do you hear?” he screamed. No doubt our young rebels throwing petrol bombs at police feel the same way as Ma.
That’s why many mainlanders believe that allowing Hong Kong unbridled freedom is ultimately the cause of the unrest we have seen in the past three months. Now some protesters are openly calling for the downfall of the central government and of the party.