The public should already know that China’s “one country, two systems” is pure fraud. Still, the story of how Hong Kong was caught in Beijing’s trap is history that the Taiwanese public needs to know.
It was not the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) first threat to the future of Hong Kong when former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) during the 1982 China-UK negotiations said that China could take it by force.
When former Hong Kong governor Robert Black in 1958 took up the post, after having helped reach an agreement on Singapore’s self-governance, then-Chinese premier Zhou Enlai (周恩來) warned him not to attempt to lead Hong Kong down the Singaporean path. The 1967 Hong Kong riots that followed the start of the Cultural Revolution and ideological “united front” work is evidence that Beijing’s policy was calculated.
In the 1970s, the idea that Hong Kong’s prosperity originated from national shame became widespread in society as an extension of the view of China-Hong Kong relations constructed by textbooks on Chinese history.
This concept, known as “knowing China and caring for society” (認中關社), gradually pushed many Hong Kongers toward the view that a “return” to China was reasonable.
One of the people behind this push was Szeto Wah (司徒華), the founder of Hong Kong’s United Democrats, which later transformed into the Democratic Party. Another was Lau Nai-keung (劉迺強), a Hong Kong member of the Chinese People’s Political and Consultative Conference who died last year.
Lau founded political group Meeting Point (匯點) in 1983 on the eve of China-UK talks. Capitalizing on the trend of “knowing China and caring for society,” Lau spread the illusion that China would make political progress based on Deng’s “reform and openness” policy, leading Hong Kongers to believe that the return would bring democracy to China. That was when Hong Kong fell into the trap set by Beijing.
Ironically, apart from Lau, the vast majority of Meeting Point members have joined the CCP camp since 1997. When it comes to problems between Hong Kong and China, such as a milk powder shortage and Chinese tourists harassing local communities, the Democratic Party never sides with local residents, but despite public resentment, it is too late to do anything about it now.
This historical overview highlights many similarities with Taiwan. Verbal and military threats are tangible, so it is possible to take precautions. Some Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members are repeating Szeto’s and Lau’s mistakes, but they are easier to expose because they are less clever about it or because Hong Kong serves as a lesson. However, the KMT’s gains in the Nov. 24 local elections caused Taiwan to change political color from pan-green to pan-blue.
The election of Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) showed that Taiwanese lack defenses against the CCP’s “united front” infiltration and they cannot see that the crisis is already upon them. That is even more worrisome than Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) malicious talk.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and her administration’s toughness will be in vain if Taiwanese continue to act like the Hong Kongers who 30 or 40 years ago failed to prevent the CCP’s “united front” tactics.
Taiwan is not the property of Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party, it belongs to all Taiwanese. They must all unite to resist the CCP and prevent someone on the inside from letting in the enemy.
Jackie Lim is a Hong Kong-based political commentator.
Translated by Eddy Chang
In the first year of his second term, US President Donald Trump continued to shake the foundations of the liberal international order to realize his “America first” policy. However, amid an atmosphere of uncertainty and unpredictability, the Trump administration brought some clarity to its policy toward Taiwan. As expected, bilateral trade emerged as a major priority for the new Trump administration. To secure a favorable trade deal with Taiwan, it adopted a two-pronged strategy: First, Trump accused Taiwan of “stealing” chip business from the US, indicating that if Taipei did not address Washington’s concerns in this strategic sector, it could revisit its Taiwan
Immediately after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) “Justice Mission” exercise at the end of last year, a question was posed to Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal regarding recent developments involving the exercises around Taiwan, and how he viewed their impact on regional peace and stability. His answer was somewhat perplexing to me as a curious student of Taiwanese affairs. “India closely follows developments across the Indo-Pacific region,” he said, adding: “We have an abiding interest in peace and stability in the region, in view of our significant trade, economic, people-to-people, and maritime interests. We urge all concerned
In a stark reminder of China’s persistent territorial overreach, Pema Wangjom Thongdok, a woman from Arunachal Pradesh holding an Indian passport, was detained for 18 hours at Shanghai Pudong Airport on Nov. 24 last year. Chinese immigration officials allegedly informed her that her passport was “invalid” because she was “Chinese,” refusing to recognize her Indian citizenship and claiming Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet. Officials had insisted that Thongdok, an Indian-origin UK resident traveling for a conference, was not Indian despite her valid documents. India lodged a strong diplomatic protest, summoning the Chinese charge d’affaires in Delhi and demanding
Taiwan needs to step up efforts to protect its access to rare earths amid escalating geopolitical risks and global economic uncertainty, given that its export-oriented economy relies heavily on imports of the elements to produce electronics. Taiwan is not the only country facing pressure to secure stable access to rare earths — metallic elements used in artificial intelligence servers, smartphones, electric vehicles and military applications such as fighter jets — after China imposed an export licensing measure last year that threatened to cut off supplies. China is using its dominance in rare earths as a bargaining chip in its trade negotiatons
RSS