1/8 #Hongkong Chinese govt never wanted to introduce national security legislation. It should have been done by the HK govt after the handover. It was part of the Basic Law. The HK govt failed so Beijing stepped in. Every country needs national security laws - the riots proved it
2/8 Is this the end of 1 country 2 systems? No. But it is the end of the era when UK/US could try and undermine it both from within and without. They never accepted Chinese sovereignty, seeking to undermine it, always criticising China. The riots were the high point.
3/8 This is a new era. Calm restored. A new HK based on 1 country 2 systems is now possible. HK will become less Western, Chinese cos more important. Its financial centre will thrive. HK will be essential for accessing China. HK will remain very different from China
4/8 Hitherto the Western criticism of China has been that it has eroded its rights. This has largely been nonsense. In fact the main problem has been China's failure to tackle the legacy of British colonial rule
5/8 HK still has a colonial-style economy that privileges the tycoons British rule created. They dominate the economy and above all the supply of land. HK's crazy property prices are not because it is densely populated but because the tycoons own and control the supply of land
6/8 HK needs major socio-economic reform on lines of China's economic transformation: competitive, innovative, broad-based. Damning indictment of UK legacy lies over border in Shenzhen, one of world's most dynamic cities, hugely innovative, rival to Silicon Valley,only 40 yrs old
7/8 HK's future lies not in looking westwards, to a stagnating and crisis-ridden UK, or to an America that is in free fall, but becoming part of the southern Chinese economy, probably the most dynamic in the world
8/8 British hypocrisy:
1 It stole Hong Kong from China in the Opium War which it fought in order to sell opium in China. A sordid episode in British colonial history
2 It governed HK for 155 years and never introduced any semblance of democracy. White Rule
What about humility?
1 It stole Hong Kong from China in the Opium War which it fought in order to sell opium in China. A sordid episode in British colonial history
2 It governed HK for 155 years and never introduced any semblance of democracy. White Rule
What about humility?
