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City Beat | Beijing’s governing formula may be the same but Hong Kong can never be like Macau
- Beijing has regularly reminded Hong Kong to take neighbouring Macau as a good reference, in particular for plugging national security loopholes
- Hong Kong, having enjoyed decades of special ties with the United States, is likely to be haunted by the ups and downs of China-US relations
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It’s perfect timing for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s duty visit to Beijing, just days ahead of Macau’s 20th handover anniversary and just as China and the US finally struck a much-anticipated, though only partial, phase-one trade deal.
This is significant because Hong Kong’s future – and Lam’s as well, in a sense – is being linked to the development of these two issues.
Firstly, Beijing has regularly reminded Hong Kong to take neighbouring Macau as a good reference, in particular for plugging national security loopholes. Only that Hong Kong can never be like Macau for reasons going beyond the fact that both cities are governed by the same, unique “one country, two systems” formula.
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Also, Hong Kong, having enjoyed decades of special ties with the United States, and now rocked by more than half a year of massive social unrest with still no easy solution in sight, is likely to be haunted by the ups and downs of China-US relations.
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Beijing has been understandably upset over the appearance of American flags at protests in the city, furious at local politicians going all the way to Washington to lobby support for the anti-government movement, and outraged that the US Congress has overwhelmingly passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act signed by President Donald Trump into law. But it had to swallow the hard truth that Hong Kong is under much wider international scrutiny than it would like.
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