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President Xi Jinping (right) with Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng said Macau’s achievements showed the importance of belief in one country, two systems. Photo: Bloomberg

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds up ‘one country, two systems’ as only way forward for Hong Kong and Macau

  • President says the system under which both cities are ruled can work in the long run, ‘as long as we are committed to it and act on it’
  • Xi also warns against foreign interference in either of the former European colonies
Macau

China’s President Xi Jinping on Friday spelled out his vision of a successful “one country, two systems” policy for Hong Kong and Macau, effectively telling the two cities that Beijing’s governing principle was the only way forward for a bright future and warning against foreign interference in their affairs.

Ending his three-day visit to Macau to mark the 20th anniversary of its return from Portuguese to Chinese rule, Xi swore in the casino hub’s new chief executive Ho Iat-seng and his cabinet in the morning.

In a subsequent 30-minute speech, he summarised the successful implementation of the one country, two systems principle in Macau in four points, and listed four other hopes for the Macau government. His remarks were widely interpreted as an indirect but obvious “to-do” list for Hong Kong, which has been rocked by six months of often-violent anti-government protests.

Among his audience at the ceremony were Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and her senior officials, who are still struggling to come up with a solution to end the political crisis and social unrest first triggered by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.

Xi said the affairs of both Hong Kong and Macau were China’s domestic affairs. Photo: Bloomberg

Under Beijing’s governing principle, which applies to both special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau are promised a high degree of autonomy, though Beijing officials and pro-democracy activists in the former British colony are often at odds over what that means. Hong Kong’s future has been the subject of intense debate, given the anti-Beijing nature of the protests, while Macau has been held up as a shining example of making the governing formula work.

“Macau’s successful experience speaks volumes about the viability and strength of one country, two systems, as long as we are committed to it and act on it,” Xi said.

The Chinese leader first praised the people of Macau for having faith in the principle, and for believing it was the best system to maintain Macau’s long-term stability.

“In implementing one country, two systems, the Macau Special Administrative Region government and society have worked both to safeguard the sovereignty, security and development interests of the country, and to uphold the long-term prosperity and stability of Macau itself,” Xi said.

Ho Iat-seng: from ‘incapable’ candidate to new Macau leader in five years

In his second point, he complimented Macau for always sticking to the “right direction” of the governing principle, and hailed its citizens for truly recognising that “one country” was the premise and precondition for “two systems”.

They have resolutely stood by the red line of the ‘one China’ principle and earnestly safeguarded the power held by the central authorities and the standing of the Basic Law
President Xi Jinping

“The executive branch, legislature and judiciary of the Macau SAR have upheld the central authorities’ overall jurisdiction over the SAR while ensuring the SAR’s high degree of autonomy,” Xi said.

“They have resolutely stood by the red line of the one-China principle and earnestly safeguarded the power held by the central authorities and the standing of the Basic Law.”

The “red line” was Xi’s reference to Beijing’s zero tolerance for independence advocacy in Hong Kong.

Xi’s third point was that the people of Macau had always kept both the country’s overall interests and the city’s own interests in mind.

His last point was that Macau’s residents had a “tradition of loving the motherland, as well as a strong sense of national identity, belonging and pride”. This was the most important reason behind the success of the one country, two systems principle, he stressed.

“The ranks of people who love the motherland as well as Macau are expanding and gaining momentum by the day, and loving the motherland as well as Macau has become the dominant core value of Macau society,” Xi said.

He also noted that patriotic education was widely carried out in Macau’s schools.

In contrast, according to the University of Hong Kong’s public opinion survey of about 1,000 people in June, only 10.8 per cent of the respondents identified themselves as Chinese, while 52.9 per cent considered themselves as Hongkongers.

Macau in an unprecedented lockdown ahead of Xi Jinping visit

For his four wishes for Macau, Xi first told the local administration to elevate its governance level.

He called for innovation to achieve sustained and sound economic development. He said it was particularly important to ensure collaboration with the neighbouring city of Zhuhai in developing Hengqin island, where Beijing has leased land for a university campus to Macau for 40 years.

He also urged the Macau government to improve people’s livelihoods, and to persist in adopting an inclusive approach and promoting social harmony and stability.

“With the return of Hong Kong and Macau, the handling of affairs in the two special administrative regions is strictly China’s internal affairs,” Xi said. “There is no need for any external force to dictate things to us.”

Beijing had a “rock-firm determination” to uphold national sovereignty, security and development interests, Xi added.

President Xi Jinping praised Macau but said ‘steady improvements’ were needed to the one country, two systems principle. Photo: Xinhua
Last month, the United States passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act that allows the State Department to sanction individuals deemed to have undermined the city’s autonomy. The act also allows Washington to suspend Hong Kong’s special trading status based on an annual certification by the department on whether the city retains a sufficient degree of autonomy under the one country, two systems framework.

Xi ended his speech by declaring that the one country, two systems framework was recognised globally, but “steady improvements” were needed.

Macau-based commentator Larry So Man-yum said Xi’s four points on the successful implementation of the governing principle in Macau were aimed at Hong Kong as well.

More than 40 per cent of Hongkongers have low sense of belonging to China, university survey finds

So said the challenge for Beijing was to convince the people of Hong Kong to love the motherland because many teenagers in the city did not accept mainland China’s political system.

Cultivating a patriotic atmosphere similar to that in Macau would be difficult because of historical differences, he said.

After the communist-led riots in December 1966 in Macau, the real power was left largely in the hands of pro-Beijing business leaders and trade unions.

Xi left Macau at around 4.30pm after inspecting troops at the People’s Liberation Army barracks, where he called on them to contribute to the successful implementation of one country, two systems.

State television reported that anti-riot and counterterrorism units in full gear were on parade – personnel not featured two years ago when the Chinese president reviewed the Hong Kong garrison.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Xi: success of macau proves strength of ruling formula
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