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Administrative Region. "One country, two systems can only work both ways if the CPG gives Hong Kong the autonomous space in which to allow its "lifestyle" to continue, and if it respects the law.
I am concerned that the implications of this may not yet have registered fully. For its part, Hong Kong has obligations too. Where CPG concerns still need to be fully addressed within the context of the Joint Declaration, my underlying fear is that unless the balance is right between all of China's interests, the danger is that each of them, including Hong Kong, could lose out. The verbal paradox between co-operation and confrontation can obscure this fact; for it makes opaque the true needs of both Hong Kong and Beijing, and it makes more difficult the exercise of the rights and duties of the United Kingdom agreed under the treaty to run until 2047. Hong Kong's official and other priorities need to be understood in Beijing as not constituting a threat to the CCP. Economic and commercial concerns are rightly pre-eminent for many in Hong Kong; but certain political structures, forms of administration and "lifestyle" seem to me to be the pre-conditions for non-interventionist economic policies and for the concomitant maintenance of economic performance. I can envisage circumstances in which these could be at risk. I am concerned in particular about the full and unhindered exercise of freedom of speech. (See paragraph 3.9) And I am concerned that Beijing may have a tendency to bully.
There has to be a good and productive working relationship created between Chinese and Hong Kong civil servants. In this regard too, Hong Kong should not ignore its own strengths: -
"So long as the morale, co-operation, and devotion of the civil
service are considered vital to the smooth transfer of sovereignty, civil servants possess strong bargaining powers vis-a-vis the PRC. This does not mean that civil servants could or should adopt a confrontational stance in defending Hong Kong's interests, but that there is some leeway for them to use their experience and expertise to impress [their concerns] upon China
To compromise on micro-autonomy could be to compromise on Hong Kong's greatest asset: its expertise. Moreover, it just cannot be right to assume that the best way to deal with potential threats is to "adjust" to them. (See paragraph 4.4) If micro-autonomy is subjected to this sort of pressure now, it will not be able to withstand the pressures of a system where administrative decisions on individual cases are based on political sense of smell and where there is compulsion to set examples, and to demonstrate continued faith. No government serves a free society adequately by compromising on the professional integrity of its institutions. Such compromises may come in many forms. They include inculcating a belief into public servants that the general good may require decisions to be taken according to unprofessional criteria. If this were to happen now, it would lead in my view to public servants