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January 14, 2025 MEMRI Daily Brief No. 699

The Hong Kong We Used To Know

January 14, 2025 | By Andrew J. Masigan*
China | MEMRI Daily Brief No. 699

Hong Kong was once the shining star of Asia. Back in the early 2000s, the former British colony was considered among the leading global financial centers, with a strong banking system, vibrant capital market, and stable currency pegged to the U.S. dollar. It was a preferred base for multinational corporations and financial institutions.

Its deep-water port made it one of the busiest trading hubs in the world, aided by its free trade policies and efficient logistics. In tourism, Hong Kong was a shopping and dining mecca that at its peak attracted as many as 65 million visitors annually.

Hong Kong was also a cultural melting pot that blended Eastern and Western cultures. This made it attractive to expatriates and international talent. Its universities gained prominence as global centers for advanced education and research.

At the heart of Hong Kong's strength was its robust rule of law, independent judiciary, and strong protection of property rights. This is what distinguished it from many other Asian countries, including China. Its regulatory environment and low corruption levels reinforced its reputation as a secure and predictable place for business. This made the special administrative region an ideal gateway for doing business with China.

Everything has changed in just a decade. Fast forward to the 2020s and Hong Kong is a shadow of its former self. It is no longer the principal financial and logistic hub that it used to be. Multinational corporations and expatriate professionals have left due to political unrest, waning civil liberties, and heavy-handed police.

The intellectual and artistic elite left too. Some 100,000 Hong Kong residents have immigrated abroad, mostly to the UK, U.S., Canada, and Australia. Hong Kong's share of the Chinese economy diminished from 19 percent in 1997 to less than two percent today. The economy has lost much of its vibrancy. Foreign direct investments are down. Tourism is down. Consumer spending is down. Shop closures are rampant, as is unemployment.


(Source: X)

What Happened?

Following its handover by Britain to China, Hong Kong was supposed to be an autonomous region for the next 50 years. China committed to maintaining Hong Kong's laissez faire system and democratic freedoms before it was to be taken over by China in 2047. Hence, the "one country, two systems" moniker.

But China broke its commitment as it always does. It started to incorporate Hong Kong into the greater Chinese communist system 25 years before the treaty expired.

In 2019, the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill was deliberated upon in Hong Kong's Legislative Council. The bill would have allowed "rebellious" Hong Kong citizens to be extradited to Mainland China. This would subject them to a different legal system that undermines Hong Kong's judicial independence. Many Hong Kong citizens viewed this as an erosion of their rights. They feared that the law could be weaponized to target political dissidents and activists.

The proposed bill sparked public outrage leading to long-protracted protests. The protests grew in intensity as the government responded with a heavy hand using tear gas, rubber bullets and severe crowd-control measures. In time, the movement evolved to a broader pro-democracy and pro-autonomy movement. Protesters demanded the complete withdrawal of the bill, an investigation into police conduct, amnesty for protesters, and universal suffrage.

After months of unrest, China relented and dropped the controversial bill. But the damage was done. Hong Kong residents lost faith in the sincerity of China to maintain "one country, two systems."

Two years later, under the cloak of COVID-19, China took its most aggressive action against the people's freedoms and civil liberties. The Law of the People's Republic of China on safeguarding national security in the Hong Kong Administrative Region was passed into law on June 30, 2020. Known as the National Security Law,[i] the law prevents and punishes acts of secession, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces that threaten national security. The law grants sweeping powers to the government and makes it easier for them to prosecute protesters. Worse, it allows for the extradition of certain violators to mainland China.

The National Security Law suppresses dissent, stifles freedom of expression, undermines Hong Kong's judiciary and the very future of the Hong Kong's democratic institutions. In one fell swoop, pro-democracy activists were quashed. It was the final nail on the coffin that would forever gag Hong Kong freedom fighters and the media, both of whom operate under a climate of fear. Pro-democracy activists now face increased scrutiny, arrests, and even imprisonment. One by one, political organizations advocating autonomy from China have disbanded or massively scaled back their activities. The citizenry has been threatened to submission. These days, no one dares voice their dissent toward the Chinese government. In schools, the youth are now indoctrinated with Chinese Communist Party values. The Cantonese language has taken a back seat with Mandarin slowly coming to the forefront.


Jailed pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai is Hong Kong businessman and politician. "The founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper stands accused of collusion with foreign forces and sedition under Beijing's national security law. He rejects the charges, which press freedom groups have decried as politically motivated.... Sebastien Lai, the son of Jimmy Lai, has consistently voiced concern about his father's health. The elder Lai has been held in solitary confinement since late 2020. 'His health has gotten much worse, as you can expect when you put a 77-year-old man in solitary confinement for four years. But his spirit is holding strong. His mind is holding strong,' Sebastien Lai told VOA in November…" (Source: Voanews.com, December 17, 2024)

Why Is China In A Rush To Subsume Hong Kong?

The Chinese government tries to maintain the appearance of a unified country. The protests in Hong Kong are seen as tarnishing China's reputation. By asserting control over Hong Kong, China gets to control the narrative and shape international perception. Putting Hong Kong under the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) whitewashes all perceived stains to China's fabricated image.

The CCP perceives threats to national unity, including movements advocating for greater autonomy, as affronts to the ideals of the CCP itself. Hong Kong's protests in 2019 were seen as a threat to China's stability and sovereignty. Hence, the need to put Hong Kong on a short leash through the National Security Law.

Today, Hong Kong freedom fighters are gagged to irrelevance. With them out of the way, China plans to integrate Hong Kong into its Greater Bay Area, along with Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macau, and seven other cities in the Guangdong province. The Greater Bay Area is envisaged to be an economic and innovation hub that is integrated financially, culturally, infrastructurally, and socially. In other words, China wants Hong Kong to be incorporated into China's development architecture and political system. The "one country, two systems" commitment is now a thing of the past.

The world fondly remembers a free and dynamic Hong Kong of yore. But alas, Hong Kong is on an irreversible path toward becoming another province of China.

*Andrew Masigan is the MEMRI China Media Studies Project Special Advisor. He is a Manila-based economist, businessman, and political columnist for The Philippine Star. Masigan's articles in MEMRI are also published in The Philippine Star.

 

[11 Bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-52765838, March 19, 2024

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