Premier Su Tseng-chang says China’s “one country, two systems” model for governing Hong Kong does not stand up to scrutiny. Su made that remark on Friday — the 25th anniversary of Britain handing over its former colony to China.
On July 1, 1997, the United Kingdom ended more than 150 years of rule over Hong Kong and transferred authority to the Chinese government. Under the handover agreement, Hong Kong become a Special Administrative Region of China for the next 50 years. Beijing promised to respect its political autonomy over that period under the principle of “one country, two systems.”
Su says one only needs to take one look at Hong Kong and the suffering of its people to see how that’s going. He says Beijing promised “business as usual” for 50 years, but Hong Kong’s democratic freedoms have been destroyed after only 25. Su says the world can see through the Chinese promises and that “one country, two systems” does not stand up to scrutiny.
Reflecting on Hong Kong’s lessons for Taiwan, he says people should steadfastly protect Taiwan’s sovereignty and democratic freedoms.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also criticized China’s rule over Hong Kong on Friday. He says China has excluded democratic participation, fundamental freedoms and independent media from the “one country, two systems” model. Blinken says the strict National Security Law imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 has led to an “erosion of autonomy”.