Hong Kong: A Pearl Losing Lustre
| Author | Ka Po Ng |
| DOI | 10.1177/2041905820978835 |
| Published date | 01 December 2020 |
| Date | 01 December 2020 |
16 POLITICAL INSIGHT • DECEMBER 2020
By the time we sing Auld Lang
Syne, many people around the
globe might look back at 2020 in
disbelief. The COVID-19 pandemic
and its consequences have put us in a world
with which we are no longer familiar. This
is even more so for the Hong Kong people,
or Hongkongers. They increasingly fear that
the freedom and cosmopolitan lifestyle that
they have long cherished are disappearing
as the Special Administrative Region (SAR)
government aligns its policies with the
authority in Beijing. While COVID-19, like any
disease outbreak in human history, will go
away one day, what about the political scars
in Hong Kong? Will this Pearl of the Orient
continue to shine?
Closing ranks with the motherland
The demonstrations in Hong Kong started
in the summer of 2019, prompted by a bill
allowing extradition to mainland China. In
the face of mounting protests, the SAR chose
crackdown over political dialogue. Masked
protesters clashing with armoured policemen
in a fog of tear gas fumes became a common
scene of everyday life in Hong Kong until the
pandemic struck the city.
Having appealed unsuccessfully for closing
the border with China in early spring to
contain the spread of disease, the people
decided to help themselves by scrambling
for face masks and practising all possible
hygienic precautions. Such uncoordinated
but unanimous actions have played no
small part in reducing cases in this densely-
populated city. However, the outbreak also
provided convenient excuses for banning
demonstrations and restricting political
assemblies. By contrast, rallies and activities
celebrating the return of Hong Kong and
the National Day were allowed to go ahead,
despite the pandemic.
With protests subsiding, police presence
on the street has decreased. This does not
represent a change of policy. In line with
Beijing’s assertive foreign policy, senior Hong
Kong government ocials denounced
Western criticism of their handling of
demonstrations as a ‘double standard’. They
also adopted a well-worn Chinese diplomatic
tone, dismissing US sanctions over human
rights infringement as ‘blatant interference
in Hong Kong aairs by a foreign country’
and maintaining that they would not be
‘intimidated’. This hard-nosed attitude and
rhetoric is undoing the image of Hong Kong
as a free, open society that the SAR has long
promoted.
Sword hanging over the head
When negotiating with Britain for the
handover of Hong Kong in the 1990s, China
promised a novel ‘one country, two systems’
approach that would guarantee the city a ‘high
degree of autonomy’ and preserve its existing
lifestyle. Some analysts and politicians have
focused on the Basic Law, which serves as a
constitution for Hong Kong and is supposed
to give the city a level of protection. But, for
China, it has always been about politics. Since
day one we have seen a delicate balancing
act, with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
leadership weighing up how much leeway it
can give Hong Kong.
When Beijing ocials say that the two
systems must operate under the overriding
principle of one country, they are stating a fact:
that the city’s political future is at the mercy of
Beijing. If we study the CCP’s powerful Political
and Legal Aairs Commission, which oversees
public security, the public prosecutor’s oce,
and the judiciary, we should have a better idea
about what has been happening. The ‘Sword of
Hong Kong: A Pearl
Losing Lustre
Between protests and pandemic, 2020 has been another tumultuous year in Hong Kong. Ka Po Ng looks
back and asks what the future might hold for ‘Asia’s world city’.
Political Insight December 2020 BU.indd 16Political Insight December 2020 BU.indd 16 10/11/2020 15:4610/11/2020 15:46
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