Surprise, surprise! The Chinese government continues to smother democracy in Hong Kong. The New York Times today wrote, “Beijing.. forbade the introduction here of universal suffrage in elections for the chief executive in 2007 and the legislature in 2008, and imposed further limits on the legislature in an attempt to silence democratic sentiment.” Communism, the “ism” responsible for more death and social destruction than any other human force in history will not abide the sharing of power with common people. One only wishes that the Chinese communists would shut up about “One Country, Two Systems.” Hong Kong does not have a separate governmental system and will not have one so long as party functionaries in Beijing twist and distort the Basic Law to suit their commercial and totalitarian interests.
Posted by publius at April 26, 2004 12:41 PMWho would stop China if they simply absorbed Hong Kong? Would Europe even impose sanctions? Would Britain? I'm afraid when the time is ripe a new human rights refugee disaster will emerge from this.
Posted by: John Vecchione at April 26, 2004 05:48 PMIf China chose to physically absorb Hong Kong the world could do little or nothing about it. In military terms, there is no boundary between Hong Kong and China to prevent an almost immediate occupation. The United Nations- France and Germany at the fore- could be counted on for toothless denunciations, but China would veto any meaningful resolution in the Security Council. The countries most affected, the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada would look first to getting their expatriates out of harms way, second to their economic interests, and finally to the human rights of Hong Kong citizens. Britain alone, because of her history in Hong Kong, would struggle with a serious refugee problem.
But this is all far fetched speculation. China will not act overtly during the term of the Joint Declaration because it depends upon Western capital markets that flow through Hong Kong to fund economic development and growth in the mainland. The more likely scenario is one of slow asphyxiation. The Chinese Communist Party already encourages the wealthy in Hong Kong to sell out the cause of human freedom for political favors and market access. This corruption will continue and even accelerate the decline of transparency and prosperity in Hong Kong.
Economic growth under one party rule in a country the size of China can only go so far. At some point, the people of China will confront the Chinese Communist Party and that will be the moment of truth. The real question is whether a peaceful transformation to multi-party rule can be engineered when this happens. In a scenario where the transparency and integrity of Hong Kong transfer over time to the mainland, a good outcome is possible. If Hong Kong is overwhelmed by mainland corruption, a good outcome is doubtful.
Posted by: Publius at April 27, 2004 10:09 AM