How 2 hit songs, old and new, reflect mainland Chinese sentiment as Beijing shapes Hong Kong and Taiwan policy
- Communique at end of Chinese Communist Party’s sixth plenum touched on city and self-ruled island for the first time, putting both under spotlight
- New tune on visiting Taiwan in 2035 has spokesperson for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office singing praises
“1997, please come soon, then I can go to Hong Kong …” the old song goes, and who would have thought back then that these lyrics could still mean so much so many years later.
While Ai claimed it was only a love song about a mainland girl longing to see her Hong Kong boyfriend, many interpreted the political implications as well.
“Let me go to the flowery world [Hong Kong]. What is Yaohan like? Let me stand at the Hong Kong Coliseum, let me see a midnight movie with him …”
Twenty-five years later, there are no more Yaohan Japanese chain department stores here and the city now has grander stadiums than the one in Hung Hom, to list a few changes.
What does Hong Kong’s experience with ‘one country, two systems’ mean for Taiwan?
The younger generation of mainlanders today may not even remember this song. Instead, they are enthralled by a new hit, Let’s Take a Bullet Train and Go to Taiwan in 2035.
“Let’s go to Taiwan in 2035, to see Grandma’s Penghu Bay, and the Alishan [Mountain] full of love songs ...” the song goes. And it’s gone viral enough for a spokesperson of Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office to sing its praises, declaring that it represents the “keen wishes” of mainlanders to see the return of Taiwan to the motherland.
2035 is the date Beijing has set as its long-term goal to “basically achieve socialist modernisation”, and many on the mainland believe that China will be strong enough by then for reunification.
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China’s communist leaders gather for ‘sixth plenum’
Some pundits noted that Hong Kong and Taiwan had never been mentioned in the party’s previous “historic resolutions” in the past as they were non-issues back then.
Ahead of the Communist Party’s final victory in taking over China, Mao Zedong told visiting Soviet Union representative Anastas Mikoyan in early 1949 that he had no plan to take Hong Kong back because “being flexible about Hong Kong can help our future import and export trades”. After that, Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s came up with his creative one country, two systems governing formula for post-1997 Hong Kong.
Fast forward to the present day and these are the issues now.
Xi Jinping’s firm hand on Hong Kong and Taiwan backed by Communist Party
Including the one-China principle on Taiwan in this party resolution suggests eventual “reunification” as its official historic goal.
But this is a difficult mission as Taiwan has been self-ruled for decades, has its own military, and has the United States as an official ally, adding to the complexity.
With the plenum cementing President Xi Jinping’s role as supreme leader, how will he deal with Taiwan? And how can mainland public sentiment play a part in Beijing’s approach?
Just as My 1997 drew mixed admiration for Hong Kong by describing the city as a “flowery place” with a colourful life, Let’s go to Taiwan in 2035 reflects mainlanders’ desire to see the many splendid landscapes of Taiwan.