In 1984, China and the United Kingdom started negotiations on the future of Hong Kong, but the opinions of Hong Kong people were never considered. Eventually, on July 1, 1997, China seized Hong Kong’s sovereignty. At that time, Hong Kong people mistakenly believe in the Chinese regime as they extravagantly thought that “one country, two systems” could protect our city from falling under Communist control. After twenty-one years, the bubbles have been prickled, and the executive authorities, as well as the legislative authorities, have fallen in one fell swoop. Worse still, the rule of law is also being devastated. After all, the so-called “Law remains unchanged, and so does the lifestyle” is only an inveracity.
The Chinese government gains unlimited power under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, and Hong Kong people have never been able to fight back. “The way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years” is nothing but a lie. Albeit with the Basic Law, the Chinese regime can behave arbitrarily, disregard the constitutional provisions, and circumvent the procedure to make the interpretations of the Basic Law. Yet, the Hong Kong courts are at wits’ end to this situation. Hong Kong government and the Communist Party even overrode the Hong Kong laws to implement Chinese policies as they claimed that the co-location arrangement is a “special case” under “One Country, Two Systems”. Incessantly, the legislation of National Anthem Law and “Article 23” are approaching. Actually, the reality has been thoroughly revealed in the “White Paper on the Practice of One Country, Two Systems in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region”: “But the “two systems” under the “one country” are not on a par with each other.” “One Country, Two Systems” was once a policy to allure Hong Kong people to trust the Chinese regime, but today it has already become to the tool for the Chinese government to take control over Hong Kong. Obviously, “One Country, Two Systems” is not a promise to protect the rights and life of Hong Kong people, but an excuse for the Chinese regime to suppress us.
There is no freedom and human rights under the Basic Law, and the illusions brought by “One Country, Two Systems” have come to an end. Today, when Hong Kong is being controlled by the Chinese government, under no circumstances shall we keep away from all the adversities. We shall no longer believe that under “One Country, Two Systems”, there is still room for protecting our city. On the contrary, we should take Hong Kong as the base, realise the situation and think about the future of our City. Only by getting rid of the restrictions of “One Country, Two Systems”, fighting up and resisting the colonization, can we have a future with democracy and freedom.
City University of Hong Kong Students’ Union
Hang Seng Management College Students’ Union
Interim Executive Committee of The Student Union of Hong Kong Shue Yan University
The Hong Kong Federation of Students
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Students’ Union
The Hong Kong University Students’ Union
The Student Union of The Chinese University of Hong Kong
1st July 2018