Commentary
July 1, 2022, marked the start of the second half of the “one country, two systems” model in Hong Kong. If “two systems” exist, it is due to end on June 30, 2047, after another 25 years. To many, the “two systems” is just a pretense and appears on paper only. China leader Xi Jinping attended the new Hong Kong cabinet ministers’ signing-in ceremony just weeks ago during his visit to Hong Kong, marking the 25-year milestone of Hong Kong reverting from Great Britain to China.
Many of us still vividly remember the cover page of Fortune magazine in 1995: “The Death of Hong Kong.” Back then, political commentators and analysts on Wall Street predicted that with the handover of Hong Kong just two years away, the core values of Hong Kong would erode quickly. The erosion of freedom of speech, press, and assembly—space, in general, would be taken away….