The future of China’s “One Country, Two Systems” Policy

“One country, two systems” is a basic state policy the Chinese government adopted in the early 1980s by Deng Xiaoping to reconcile the communist mainland with historically Chinese territories—Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau—that had capitalist economies. Following this principle, the Chinese government successfully solved the question of Hong Kong through diplomatic negotiations with the British government, and resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997. Under this policy, China’s parliament authorises these territories to exercise a “high degree of autonomy,” to enjoy executive, legislative and independent judicial power. China is responsible for defence and foreign affairs but leaves internal security affairs to them. This semi-autonomous status is granted in exchange for recognizing the existence of “One China.” It’s an idea that Macau and Hong Kong officially subscribe to and Taiwan fiercely resists, but one that is increasingly questioned and considered flawed.

More than two decades later after Hong Kong’s return to China, it can be observed that the greater freedoms protected by the declaration are eroding pretty fast. In fact, the Chinese government’s actions are contrary to their assurance to Hong Kong residents. Under the 1984 Sino-British joint declaration, China promised a high degree of autonomy and guaranteed that the territory’s way of life would be preserved for “at least 50 years” after the handover, a concept known as “one country, two systems.” The declaration also envisaged universal suffrage as an eventual goal, although Hong Kong’s most senior leader, Chief Executive, is still elected by a committee of 1,200 selected members and nominally appointed by the government of China. China is not meeting its side of the bargain and this has led to months of social and political turmoil in Hong Kong.

The model’s application on Hong Kong was flawed right from its formulation, the people of Hong Kong were not part of the agreement. This means that their needs and aspirations in regards to sovereignty were not well represented in the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong, an aspect that laid ground for the current problems. The outcome has been differences in interpretation and understanding of terms like democracy, electoral process and other issues of contention which has culminated into the current chaos.

Taiwan’s leader Tsai Ing-wen used the situation in Hong Kong to her advantage and won her second term in office in a historic, landslide victory in the presidential elections. Over the years Taiwan has had a bitter-sweet relationship with China depending on the party in power. Since Tsai Ing-wen, leader of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power in 2016, relations between the two countries have worsened. China has flown military planes around the island, poached the island’s diplomatic allies, and punished companies that treat Taiwan as separate from China. However, her victory over populist, pro-China Han Kuo-yu was a big slap in the face of Xi Jinping and his “one country, two systems” policy.

The Chinese President Xi Jinping has on several occasions aggressively spoken against anti-China rhetoric in Hong Kong and Taiwan, clearly signalling Chinese intolerance to freedom fighters. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has been quoted calling the Sino-British Joint Declaration “a historical document” that “no longer has any practical significance”, meaning there is no legal binding on China. The international community has always condemned the excessive use of force on the protesters and urged China to use dialogue but I think for the case of Hong Kong, Britain as a guarantor has a responsibility to ensure that China remains committed to the agreement till 2047 since it was signed between Britain and China.

The new year has not started well for the Chinese ruler, Xi Jinping continues to grapple with the situations in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The trade war with the United States is far from over and China is experiencing the highest economic slowdown in three decades, and an outbreak of a corona virus in Wuhan which is still proving uncontainable. He has got to adjust when it comes to the way he handles “one country, two systems” policy. One can argue that the policy is workable and has been working in Macau and Hong Kong, but is it really the case? The answer to this question depends on where one stands and whether one is concerned with formal claim only or with the substantive concerns of the people as well.

There is still need for continuous negotiations guided by mutual respect from both parties. At the moment, it looks like Beijing is more interested in sovereign control of the territories at whatever cost. When Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping proposed the “one country, two systems” model, he envisioned two things; China uniting and standing as one nation, the other was mutual respect for each other’s political systems and existing institutions, so that different systems can coexist. The leaders in mainland China and all the three territories have got to reflect on this, find a common ground and workable solutions that promote growth and prosperity.

With the policy here to stay, it remains clear that Beinjing still faces a lot of obstacles which it must overcome to make the “one country, two systems” work in Hong Kong before it thinks about applying it in Taiwan.  As China remains committed to maintaining its communist political system, it has got to adapt to the demands of the current situation. The leadership of China has got to realise that reiterating the use force as a way of enforcing the “one country, two systems” policy has so far proven disastrous and destabilizing to the region. In one of his famous quotes, Deng Xiaoping said, “It doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.” It’s time China commits to finding workable solutions for its policy. This might require throwing out dogmas and adopt whatever idea works for the interests of the people. ity47 \lsdl