People keep marching in Hong Kong.
It’s not about jobs, about immigration or even about politics; Universal Suffrage is a basic human right.
Why are China so intransigent on this matter? It’s because they have no other choice.
If they had let Patten’s political reforms continue in Hong Kong post 1997 they would have probably been able to salvage the 1 country 2 systems principle. Hong Kong would have probably been democratically sound by now and China could at least stem the proliferation of Democracy. They could point to Hong Kong and say, ‘they’re different, that’s why they’re treated different’.
But they didn’t. They treated Hong Kong like another provincial township and basically put it in the same basket as every soiled, downtrodden, urban Chinese city. The message has been clear - You’re a part of China, you’re the same as every other province in the People’s Republic, there’s nothing particularly special about Hong Kong which would allow it the right to Universal Suffrage.
So when eventually Universal Suffrage does come, the mainland towns might just raise an eyebrow. China has swept any differences between Hong Kong and Shenzen under the carpet, so if Democracy is good enough for Hong Kong why isn’t it good enough for Shenzen?
“They said the same things about Hong Kong as they said about us.” The people will ponder, “they legislated in Hong Kong as they did over us - there is no material difference between the policies towards Hong Kong and the policies for the rest of China”
and from that must come the inescapable conclusion: “We are the same.”
And if one hand should receive the vote, why shouldn’t the other? They’re equal, they’re the same, they deserve to be treated in the exact same way.
By failing to distinguish between Hong Kong and the rest of their dominion since the handover, the CCP has now boxed itself into a corner. There can be no special rules or conditions for Hong Kong now because they’ve spent 8 years screaming that the former colony is just another part of China - by their words and by their actions.
Instead of isolating Hong Kong in political quarantine, the CCP sought to smother it. To impose conformity over individuality and to plaster Hong Kong in the colours of mainland uniformity. Now it’s coming round to bite them in the ass.
The CCP spent so much time and effort trying to stop Democracy from proliferating and infecting the political vacuum left by decades of communist rule that they ironically ensured its spread. When Hong Kong gets the vote, every chinese province will demand the vote.
To quote Princess Leia,
“The more you tighten your grip, the more systems will slip through your fingers.”
Best of Luck, Hu.
Later
John
Posted by John Swaine at December 4, 2005 04:47 PM