Can mainland China-Hong Kong two systems coexist peacefully in a world more ideologically divided by coronavirus crisis?

Row over the reach of two Beijing agencies into Hong Kong affairs comes as mainland China seems determined to seize the global narrative on the city
Question is how can officials ensure ‘one country, two systems’ endures peacefully, when the world is increasingly riven by ideology?

Tammy Tam

Published: 5:41pm, 19 Apr 2020

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Where is this world heading under the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic that has infected more than 2.3 million people and killed well over 150,000?

At a time when so many are barricaded indoors, busy working from home or not doing much, but all participating in a global social-distancing campaign to stop the spread of the coronavirus and save lives, pondering upon the distant future can seem too philosophical or remote. But what lies ahead is real enough for everyone, including Hongkongers.

We could all do with more unity than divisiveness, but the reality seems just the opposite. Along with growing talk of deglobalisation, the warnings are getting louder about the risk of an “iron curtain” that would hinder future economic recovery, as pointed out by former US treasury secretary Henry Paulson.

Meanwhile, the blame game continues between the US and some Western countries on one side and China on the other over the origin of the coronavirus and “cover-ups”, along with debate over the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on global democracy – and the pros and cons of Western-style democracy as opposed to China’s “socialism with Chinese characteristics”, which critics see as an authoritarian system.

Beijing is getting more combative in rebutting all kinds of allegations and taking pride in the country becoming the first major economy to bring the deadly pandemic under control within its borders. It has spared no effort in showing the world how its top-down state mechanism works.

The message is simple – it’s about building up people’s confidence in their own socialist system, something President Xi Jinping has been trying hard to promote since taking up office in 2012.

Unfortunately and inevitably, the global fight against Covid-19 has become entangled in politics and differing ideologies. And it is under such a macro backdrop that Hong Kong is facing a new round of political turmoil raising questions as to where the “one country, two systems” formula is heading.

It all started with Beijing’s latest “redefining” of the role and responsibility of two of its major agencies in charge of Hong Kong matters – the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office under the State Council, and the central government’s liaison office in the city.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and President Xi Jinping on the 20th anniversary of the city's handover from British to Chinese rule. In 2020, the governing system for Hong Kong continues to find itself immersed in controversy, with global politics increasingly fractured. Photo: Reuters

For the first time since the 1997 handover of sovereignty to mainland China, and ahead of the government’s more than HK$137.5 billion anti-pandemic fund being put to the Legislative Council for approval, the two offices last week issued strongly worded statements blasting opposition lawmakers for deliberately blocking the normal functioning of the legislature with filibustering tactics.

Such a high-profile attack aside, what outraged the pan-democrats was a further clarification by the two offices of their “supervisory” role over Hong Kong affairs authorised by the central government. Their argument was that the two offices could not be lumped together with other mainland institutions stipulated in Article 22 of the Basic Law as not being allowed to interfere in Hong Kong affairs on their own – the operation of the city’s legislative branch is considered a local affair.

Even the Hong Kong government itself became confused, issuing three different versions of a statement over 4.5 hours during the weekend. The embarrassing U-turns, correcting definitions that contradicted Beijing’s by putting the liaison office under the Article 22 category, were telling enough.

Controversy over what one country, two systems really means is bound to continue, not just within this city but also around the world, as Hong Kong’s troubles tend to make international headlines. Beijing seems more determined than ever to take the narrative back.

Agree with it or not, a more fundamental question is how both Hong Kong and Beijing can ensure the two systems coexist peacefully in this city, under one country, as the whole world is getting more divided ideologically.

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