(f) Hong Kong people, and persons from the U.K. whose position and
interests are accepted at a senior level in Beijing, have the task of demonstrating in Beijing how practical autonomy (1) is not detrimental to the CPG, (2) will stand Hong Kong in good stead, (3) brings conformity with the equally authentic English text of the Joint Declaration, and (4) goes no higher than the "high degree" of autonomy contemplated by two sovereign governments within the context of an agreement based on the maintenance of two
systems.
Thus, I answer my own question in the following way: the purpose of the SAR's autonomy is to preserve all the pre-conditions of the Hong Kong system so that its people can live their lives in the way to which they are accustomed, and thereby contribute in their own way to the common interest.
3.10.
3.11.
B.
Patriotism and "One Country, Two Systems"
I believe it right at this stage to introduce a thought about the issue of Chinese "patriotism" into the context of the institutional relationship between the CPG and the SAR. I am conscious that I need to do this carefully as it is not given to many outsiders to be taken seriously when writing about such matters. My concerns are two-fold.
?
First, I am aware that beyond 1997 there is the possibility of people "going north" for political favours in a way which could undermine the SAR's level of macro-autonomy. As a speaker in Legco in March 1990 put it: Is the rule to be that " as long as 'a man of insight' does not hesitate to go north, he will eventually gain something, at least some consolation prizes?"" So will there be a magnet which "encourages the contestants in the political arena to go north"? Here, the issue of "patriotism" becomes relevant.
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"In contemporary China, patriotism and socialism are essentially
unified. Whether one is patriotic or not is the biggest political dividing line. We should actively unite all Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau compatriots,
as long as they are patriotic and stand for the motherland's reunification, even if they do not agree with the socialist system. We have insisted on the principle of peacefully unifying the motherland on the basis of 'one country, two systems'
We should tolerate differences stemming from social systems, ideologies and life-styles. Under the banner of patriotism, the broader we unite people, the more it will help us
succeed in our work.'
In this context, the central question can be asked in the following way:
What is a patriot's duty?
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