Senior state officials laud ‘one country, two systems’ policy for Hong Kong, voice confidence in city’s prosperity and ‘quality democracy’
- Huang Liuquan, HKMAO deputy director, says anyone betting on demise of city has ‘never won’
- Huang and Liu Guangyuan, commissioner of the Chinese foreign ministry’s office in Hong Kong, spoke at high-powered forum marking 25th anniversary of handover
Senior state officials have lauded the “one country, two systems” principle under which Hong Kong has been governed for the past 25 years, expressing confidence the city will become a more prosperous global business hub boasting “quality democracy” with the nation’s support.
Huang Liuquan, deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, also said those betting on the city’s demise had “never won”.
Huang, along with Liu Guangyuan, commissioner of the Chinese foreign ministry’s office in Hong Kong, attended a high-powered forum on Thursday as part of the lead-up to the 25th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule on July 1.
The duo hailed the efficiency of the Beijing-imposed national security law and “patriots-only” electoral shake-up in bringing the one country, two systems policy back on track, despite criticism that the opposition camp and any dissent had been effectively wiped out.
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“Hong Kong has transformed from chaos to stability, and is at a critical juncture to move on from stability to greater prosperity,” Huang said via teleconferencing.
“The central government fully trusts Chief Executive-elect John Lee Ka-chiu. We believe that a new style of governance will be demonstrated under his leadership,” he added, referring to the city’s incoming leader, who will be sworn in on July 1.
Huang also said the original intentions of one country, two systems were to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, as well as to maintain the city’s long-term prosperity and stability.
In the past 25 years, he said, the principle had proved to be successful, as Hong Kong’s economy, including its finance industry and stock exchange, continued to flourish.
Since the handover in 1997, Hong Kong’s gross domestic product had doubled from HK$1.37 trillion (US$174.5 billion) to HK$2.87 trillion, Huang noted, while per capita GDP had increased from HK$212,000 to HK$387,000.
During the same period, the market value of the local stock market had jumped from HK$3.2 trillion to HK$38 trillion, while Hong Kong’s foreign currency reserve had multiplied from US$92.8 billion to US$465.1 billion, he said.
Citing a leading story in Fortune in 1995, the deputy director said that while the US magazine had proclaimed “the death of Hong Kong” before the 1997 handover, it conceded in 2007 that “Hong Kong is hardly dead”.
“They admitted they were wrong. This story is quite indicative to all of us, and it showed that the people who bet that Hong Kong was doomed to fail have never won, and they never will,” he said.
In his own speech, Liu noted the number of foreign consular missions in Hong Kong had increased from 88 to 119 since 1997, with more than 600 bilateral agreements signed with overseas countries. The commissioner also said he believed Hong Kong had a bright future ahead.
“With the strong support of the central government, as well as the joint efforts of the Hong Kong SAR government and all sectors in society, Hong Kong will certainly become a bright pearl with a more thriving economy, more harmonious environment, and higher quality democracy, as well as better rule of law and happier lives,” he said.
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Liu added that with China’s latest economic plans and trade initiatives, businesses from all over the world would be “choosing opportunities and investing in the future” as they converged on Hong Kong.
“Our confidence is from the strong determination of the central government, to fully and faithfully implement one country, two systems. The Communist Party of China is the founder, leader, follower, and defender of one country, two systems,” he said.
“No one cherishes the original aspirations of one country, two systems more deeply than the Communist Party of China.”
Looking forward, Liu said his office would continue to protect the safety and lawful rights of Hongkongers overseas, while also helping the city to stay connected with the rest of the world.
“We will build more platforms for Hong Kong’s external exchanges and cooperation by using diplomatic resources,” he said.
During the same event, outgoing city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Lee also made speeches about the city’s future.
Praising Beijing for imposing the national security law in the wake of the 2019 social unrest, Lam said the move had laid “a solid foundation for” the future of Hong Kong.
“I and my government were facing some unprecedented challenges which could derail ‘one country, two systems’ and paralyse the government. It was only with the timely intervention of the central government that a number of concrete actions were taken at the constitutional level to save the day,” she said.
Incoming leader Lee, meanwhile, pledged to “put priority on deep-rooted issues such as housing, healthcare, youth development” under Beijing’s “support and guidance”.
University of Hong Kong (HKU) president Xiang Zhang, Basic Law Committee vice-chairwoman Maria Tam Wai-chu, and Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, chief executive of property developer New World Development, also attended the forum. It was organised by Bauhinia Culture Holdings, a state-owned cultural enterprise, and HKU.
