A missing page in the grand plan of “one country, two systems”: regional integration and its challenges to post-1997 Hong Kong

Delay no more: struggles to re-imagine Hong Kong (for the next 30 years)

“…He reminds us that there was a time when the world's attention had been diverted from the historic handover of Hong Kong to Beijing, and so "[t]he delicacy, apprehensiveness, and uncertainty inherent in the notion of 'one country, two systems' were temporarily put aside" (Lui 2015). Article 5 of the Basic Law (Hong Kong's mini-constitution) stipulates that socialism should not be practised in the HKSAR, where "the previous capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years" (cited in Lui 2015).…”

“…There is no simple explanation or easy solution for the imminent "disappearance" of the Hong Kong that a substantial portion of its residents say they used to know, as deep-rooted problems (of both social and existential nature) continue to surface through daily practices-from street culture to press freedom; from access to television broadcasting and a free and open media world, to equal opportunities and fair-play for education, housing, health care and retirement. As Lui Tai-lok in this special issue on Hong Kong writes, the "'shocks of [national/]regional integration' were never fully envisaged by the 'one country, two systems' model" (Lui 2015). As if he were echoing the reference to a certain fixation about "disappearance," Lui (2015) refers explicitly to the "fragility and uncertainty" of Hong Kong's political future "in the hands of an authoritarian socialist state as the projected handover in 1997 was approaching."…”

“…As Lui Tai-lok in this special issue on Hong Kong writes, the "'shocks of [national/]regional integration' were never fully envisaged by the 'one country, two systems' model" (Lui 2015). As if he were echoing the reference to a certain fixation about "disappearance," Lui (2015) refers explicitly to the "fragility and uncertainty" of Hong Kong's political future "in the hands of an authoritarian socialist state as the projected handover in 1997 was approaching." While some might lose track of the city's "success" story being built on the institutional groundwork of colonial bureaucracies and governmental processes, until Deng's China gradually woke up from three decades ago to the fanfare of the capitalist world, the groundwork had shielded the territory effectively from the political trauma, corruption, disjuncture, and display of "cultural revolution" the Chinese people had to experience north of Hong Kong's now defenceless, susceptible border.…”

“…Contextualising the transition of Hong Kong from a British colony to a SAR under PRC, Tai-lok Lui (2015) attempts to put us in the macro perspective through the 1990s when people prior to the handover pondered seriously over what would happen after 1997, and when "China further deepened its economic reform by further marketization." He reminds us that there was a time when the world's attention had been diverted from the historic handover of Hong Kong to Beijing, and so "[t]he delicacy, apprehensiveness, and uncertainty inherent in the notion of 'one country, two systems' were temporarily put aside" (Lui 2015).…”

“…Article 5 of the Basic Law (Hong Kong's mini-constitution) stipulates that socialism should not be practised in the HKSAR, where "the previous capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years" (cited in Lui 2015). But Lui (2015) also reminds us that as "[t]ensions and conflicts arising from regional [pertaining mainly to Pearl River Delta] and national integration are quickly reshaping the relationship between Beijing and the SAR," developments in post-1997 Hong Kong have progressively revealed the immense complexity, if not utter impossibility, of the "one country, two systems" idea, since it projects that "a capitalist economy is expected to coexist with a socialist system" (Lui 2015).…”