On Tuesday, the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress ruled -- in an interpretation of Hong Kong's Basic Law -- that Beijing has final say over amendments the territory's government makes to its laws governing the election of its chief executive and the Legislative Council. The interpretation crushes hopes in Hong Kong for universal suffrage in 2007. It is also a disappointing retraction of promises concerning the territory's autonomy and a new interpretation of Beijing's "one country, two systems" policy.
Pro-democracy groups are reportedly organizing a demonstration for Sunday to protest the ruling. They have also started an action asking each resident to send a protest letter to Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong. The angry reaction from Hong Kong's democrats is not difficult to understand, nor was Beijing's ruling unexpected. The inability of the people of Hong Kong to come to grips with this decision is a reflection of their unrealistic expectations of the Zhongnanhai leadership and the "one country, two systems" policy.
The people of Taiwan, however, firmly set on consolidating democracy, should condemn Beijing's ruling and support the determination of the people of Hong Kong to pursue autonomy.
Democracy is a universal value. China should not postpone democracy in the name of cultural or national conditions. It doesn't enhance China's international image and is detrimental to future cross-strait developments. China's tightening of its grip on Hong Kong dampens the willingness of the people of Taiwan to improve cross-strait relations. The political credibility of Beijing, slim to begin with, will evaporate.
When the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (
But Beijing has not given up and has now placed severe restrictions on direct elections for the territory's leadership. Will the people of Hong Kong have to take to the streets whenever China launches a bill to restrict democracy? If this is the case, where is Hong Kong's better tomorrow?
Friendly observers must also note that one of the biggest blind spots among Hong Kong's pro-democracy activists is their acceptance of Chinese nationalism. Due to their full identification with and belief in China, they have been repeatedly trapped by their own "nationalist complex" in their pursuit of autonomy. For example, in testimony on Capitol Hill early last month, Democratic Party founder Martin Lee (
Lee's blind spot is shared by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-People First Party (PFP) alliance, which also subscribes to with Chinese nationalism. The alliance faces the same problem as Lee in its pursuit of a mature democracy. It upholds certain democratic values, but is bound by Chinese nationalism. As a result, the alliance is completely trapped in a nationalist-style reaction when facing crucial democratic problems, such as Chinese interference.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) sits down with US President Donald Trump in Beijing on Thursday next week, Xi is unlikely to demand a dramatic public betrayal of Taiwan. He does not need to. Beijing’s preferred victory is smaller, quieter and in some ways far more dangerous: a subtle shift in American wording that appears technical, but carries major strategic meaning. The ask is simple: replace the longstanding US formulation that Washington “does not support Taiwan independence” with a harder one — that Washington “opposes” Taiwan independence. One word changes; a deterrence structure built over decades begins to shift.
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