China Reserves Right to Tweak One Country, Two Systems

"One country, two systems" was agreed upon in 1984

With the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong handover fast approaching, a senior Chinese official is now saying that "One country, two systems" will need to be fine tuned.

Shen Chunyao is Beijing's top advisor on the Basic Law, and says this principle needs to be improved, but that Hong Kong's constitution won't change after 2047, when the 50-year mark is reached.

He said people should focus on the correct implementation of "one country, two systems", and understanding China's constitution and the basic law so that people's rights are protected as well as Hong Kong's prosperity.

Shen says the principle can be tweaked

"Fifty years is only a symbolic expression. This would not change even after 50 years. The first 50 years is: we cannot change, then after 50 years that would be that we need not change, as long as we believe in "one country, two systems". Its life, its vitality would be fully expressed," Shen said.

He also said "one country, two systems" would need to be improved or fine tuned to ensure Hong Kong moves steadily ahead.

"We should not adopt a straitjacket approach. We shouldn't think that once it's set nothing can be changed, because if we just simplistically say that we will resist on this without being able to improve it with time, then we will not be able to fully develop its potential."

When the Joint Declaration was signed in 1984 by then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and then Premier Zhao Ziyang, that agreement was set in stone. At the time leader Deng Xiaoping said Hong Kong would have 50 years of no change.

But now even before the halfway point Hong Kong has changed dramatically, with the strong opposition to the extradition bill that led to the protests and the punishment in the form of the national security law.

That coupled with the pandemic for over two years has crippled the city economically and thousands are sacrificing their good jobs and lives in the city and moving elsewhere to enjoy freedoms and rights that have disappeared in Hong Kong. And with that the city's vitality in terms of economic growth and prosperity has evaporated too, all in the name of security and dynamic zero Covid.

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So how can Shen say that "one country, two systems" will not change? This principle has already been thrown out the window and Hong Kong is fast becoming another mainland Chinese city.

The government has made no effort to entice residents to stay or generated jobs for them to take -- instead it has left the city and its residents floundering, dealing with the threat of violating the national security law, and social-distancing requirements, some of which have become absurd, like still demanding returning residents and visitors quarantine for seven days, and only four people can gather in public compared to eight to a table in a restaurant.

But logic doesn't exist much in Hong Kong these days. It's all about political rhetoric and Shen's message is a head scratcher that ensures living in a parallel universe. It's the only way to explain the contradictions.