July 1 will be the seventh anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to Chinese rule. Hong Kong has been going downhill since the handover. The economic slump has recently been compounded by the SARS epidemic imported from Guangdong Province.
What's more, the territory's freedoms and the rule of law are in danger. The recent dispute over anti-subversion legislation has prompted protests from Hong Kong democrats and caused anxiety among Chinese democracy advocates. Even the US has openly expressed concern over the matter.
Article 23 of Hong Kong's Basic Law stipulates: "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region, and to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies."
This article is aimed at taking Hong Kong from "one country, two systems" to "one country, one system."
During the post-handover honeymoon, horse races went on as usual, people danced as usual and the annual demonstrations commemorating the June 4 Tiananmen massacre went on as usual. The Falun Gong movement also remained active in Hong Kong, even though it was banned in China.
But Hong Kong's relative freedom and the "two systems" environment quickly became an annoyance to Beijing. China has been thinking about how to bring Hong Kong into one system. The Hong Kong government's national security bill, if enacted, will severely curb the rights of its people. Once the bill is passed, "one country, two systems" will cease to exist entirely.
The rule of law has been crumbling in Hong Kong since the handover. The political system is already undemocratic. Once the national security bill is passed, it will seriously affect freedom in a vast number of areas -- thought, religion, press, speech, cultural creativity, information, academic research and assembly. The law will fundamentally change Hong Kong society. Any legislation aimed at fulfilling the mandate of Article 23 will introduce authoritarian China's ideology into Hong Kong's legal system and seriously weaken the freedoms and rights the people of Hong Kong have long enjoyed. It will also undermine the legal basis for "one country, two systems" and damage Hong Kong's international image.
"One country, two systems" was a sales pitch aimed at Taiwan -- to make unification with China appear more attractive. Since Hong Kong's handover, however, Taiwanese are simply not interested in becoming a "special administrative region" ruled by a government hand-picked and controlled by Beijing. Because "one country, two systems" has failed to win over Taiwanese, the proposal has lost its purpose and China's government has no reason to continue to extend freedoms and rights to Hong Kong's people.
Some people here believe Taiwan should consider accepting the "one China" principle. In light of how Beijing has treated Hong Kong, once Taiwan accepts being a part of China, Beijing will no longer need to hold up Hong Kong as a showcase. Hong Kong's importance will fall and Taiwanese will also become second-class citizens under "one country, one system."
Some politicians in Taiwan are promoting a "one China" consensus and fantasizing about participating in international organizations under a "one China roof." As a result, PFP Legislator Kao Ming-chien (高明見) became a tool of Beijing for denigrating Taiwan's status at the SARS conference in Kuala Lumpur. In light of Hong Kong's past glory and its dismal future, "one country, two systems" is a losing proposition.
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