The political turmoil in Hong Kong over a proposed extradition bill has exposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula as untenable in Taiwan and unacceptable to Taiwanese, former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chairman Richard Bush said yesterday.
“I think the outcome here in the whole case of the extradition bill just proves again to people here that one country, two systems is not workable here, not appropriate here,” Bush said at a forum on risks to peace in Asia.
Taiwan’s stance against China’s formula for unification has been amplified by the massive protests in Hong Kong, where people fear that the extradition bill would threaten human rights by subjecting Hong Kongers to China’s arbitrary judicial system, Bush said.
“For right now, the confidence of the Hong Kong people in their government and one country, two systems has diminished, declined,” he said.
The proposed bill, whose legislative process has been suspended in the wake of massive rallies in Hong Kong over the past week, would allow Hong Kong authorities to extradite suspects to Taiwan or China, including Macau.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told the forum that Taiwan needs to hold on to its democratic values to curb the expansion of authoritarianism.
The case of Hong Kong, a former British colony, has shown how media freedom and autonomous administration have given way to Beijing’s overarching power, Wu said, adding that Taiwan should never bow to dictatorship.
On the issue of the chances of military conflict in the Asia-Pacific region, Bush said that tensions have been escalating in the past few years due to the changing roles of the US and China.
The US has maintained “hegemonic stability” in East Asia since the Vietnam War, remaining a dominant power under which countries in the region, including China, could pursue political, economic and social modernization, he said.
Over the years, the US was comfortable with allies relying on it for security and depending on China for prosperity, Bush said.
However, the rise and fall of the balance of power between the US and China has led to challenges in maintaining the “status quo,” he said.
To maintain regional peace, it is important that the US and China reach consensus on peaceful coexistence, ideally through the establishment of an economic order led by those two and Japan, for instance, he said.
There should also be a mechanism to avoid conflict and the key is an acknowledgment by countries in the region that they do not have to make a choice between the US and China, Bush said.
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