25 yrs: Beijing tightens HK grip, lauds ‘1 nation, 2 systems’

Hong Kong: China’s leader Xi Jinping marked the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return with a speech Friday that emphasised Beijing’s control over the former British colony under its vision of “one country, two systems” – countering criticism that the political and civic freedoms promised for the next quarter-century have been largely erased under Chinese rule.

Xi praised the city for overcoming “violent social unrest” – a reference to massive pro-democracy protests in 2019 that were followed by a Beijingdriven crackdown that has snuffed out dissent and shut down independent media, aligning Hong Kong more closely with stricter controls under China’s ruling Communist Party.

The shift shocked many in the city of 7.4 million people that Britain returned to China in 1997 after running it as a colony for more than a century. As part of the agreement, China agreed to allow Hong Kong to have its own government and legal system for 50 years.

Xi said that Beijing has “comprehensive jurisdiction” over Hong Kong, and that Hong Kong should respect Chinese leadership, even as Beijing allows regions like Hong Kong and neighbouring Macao to maintain their capitalist system and a degree of autonomy.

“After the return to the motherland, Hong Kong has overcome all kinds of challenges and moved forwards steadily,” Xi said. “Regardless of whether it was the international financial crisis, the coronavirus pandemic or violent social unrest, nothing has stopped Hong Kong’s progress.”

His speech represented the culmination of what China scholar Jeff Wasserstrom has described as a push and pull between two competing visions of “one country, two systems.” Xi warned that there would be no tolerance for foreign interference or traitors meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs.

He said that “safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests” is of the highest priority. “Nobody in any country or region in the world will allow foreign countries or even traitorous forces and figures to seize power,” he said, adding that only by having patriots governing Hong Kong can it ensure long-term stability. He said that that “one country, two systems” was still a good system that “must be maintained for a long time. —AP