Why President Xi has set the record straight

Xiao Ping says it is necessary to correct the mistake of those who have deviated from the original meaning of 'one country, two systems'

President Xi Jinping and his entourage returned to Beijing on the afternoon of July 1 at the end of a three-day visit to Hong Kong. After the president's plane took off, Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Central People's Government Liaison Office in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), gave a speech summing up six important achievements made during the visit. One of them is that the president had "set the record straight" on the original intent of "one country, two systems". Not surprisingly, many local commentators echoed Zhang's views as they used the same phrase in their own interpretation of Xi's speeches in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has been back under China's sovereign rule for 20 years. Why did Xi reiterate the original intent of "one country, two systems" just now?

Setting the record straight means when the understanding of something has deviated from its original definition, it's necessary to correct the mistake and bring the original definition and its real meaning back for the people to follow. Looking back at the past two decades, some politicians and the local media in Hong Kong have indeed gone astray with the definition of "one country, two systems", particularly by stressing "two systems" at the expense of "one country", to the point of misrepresenting the SAR in relation to the central government and rejecting the central authorities' direct jurisdiction over Hong Kong.

As a number of political incidents had rocked Hong Kong society in recent years, such as the ill-advised protests against the State Council's white paper reiterating Hong Kong's constitutional status and the central government's direct jurisdiction over the HKSAR; the opposition camp's unconstitutional demands over Hong Kong's political reform, which led to the illegal "Occupy Central" movement, and the rise of secessionism or separatism in the shape of "Hong Kong independence" and "local self-determination". If the wrongs are not righted soon, Hong Kong's exercise of "one country, two systems" would go astray and even backward.

Now, one may wonder, how Hong Kong should go about righting the wrongs and bringing the original intent of "one country, two systems" back. As Xi has said more than once in Hong Kong, the most crucial step to take is to fully and precisely understand and implement the "one country, two systems" principle. "One country, two systems" is made of two sides exactly in that order, never the other way around. In this respect, upholding the nation's sovereignty, security and development interests must always come first, followed by maintaining Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability (spoken at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China). Likewise, the central authorities' right to maintain direct jurisdiction over Hong Kong according to the Constitution and the Basic Law of the HKSAR always comes first, followed by ensuring Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy (spoken at the 4th Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC).

The central government's power and national security are not only what "one country, two systems" is designed to serve but right on top of all other purposes as well. That means they always come before the rest. Xi has put it well - "one country" is the root, as in deep roots sustaining rich foliage; and "one country" is the core, as in a strong core sustaining more branches. Rights always come with responsibilities and in equal measure. One cannot enjoy the assurance and support provided by the country while ignoring national interests, to the point even the national security legislation according to the Article 23 of the Basic Law has been delayed for so many years. Such imbalance between rights and responsibilities cannot last long.

During his visit to Hong Kong in May last year, Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, urged Hong Kong society to "never forget the original intent (of 'one country, two systems')". While Zhang's words were practically still ringing in our ears, Xi provided in his capacity as head of State the most authoritative definition of "one country, two systems" in which Hong Kong residents must do their best to appreciate. Only when reset to the right course could the ship of "one country, two systems" sail far and smoothly.

The author is a veteran current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 07/10/2017 page8)