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The northern metropolitan area. Interview | Li Xiaojia's In-Depth Thinking: The Changes and Unchanged of "One Hong Kong, Two Systems"

2021-12-04T04:45:40.712Z


"You must find me inexplicable. Why did you suddenly come out to talk about these issues?"-Li Xiaojia, former chief executive of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, recently proposed to develop the "Northern Metropolis" with the concept of "One Hong Kong, Two Systems"


"You must find me inexplicable. Why did you suddenly come out to talk about these issues?"-Li Xiaojia, former chief executive of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, recently proposed the development of the "Northern Metropolis" with the concept of "One Hong Kong, Two Systems", causing political enthusiasm Some people worry that the introduction of the one system in the Mainland may gradually change the one system in Hong Kong, and some suspect that Li Xiaojia intends to switch to abandoning business and politics; he later accepted an exclusive interview with "Hong Kong 01" and described himself as an ordinary Hong Konger who "has nothing but a light body". I just feel that whenever Hong Kong discusses the development path, it will always fall into the opposition of "change and unchanged". I also worry that the existing governance mechanism and operating logic may not be suitable for emerging development regions. Therefore, I borrowed the "One Country, Two Systems" thinking framework and hoped that Hong Kong would be able to make a difference. Embrace the "innovation system" instead of "resisting progress" without violating "procedural justice". "We will learn from whoever is good in the country and the world, but we will not lose ourselves as a result."

Li Xiaojia reiterated that the key proposition of "One Hong Kong, Two Systems" is not "should change", but that all sectors of society should break through the old framework, recognize development prospects, and rethink "how to respond"-what is in it? It is an insurmountable bottom line, and what is a barrier that must advance with the times and be broken.


Li Xiaojia reiterated that the key proposition of "One Hong Kong, Two Systems" is not "should change", but that all sectors of society should break through the old framework, recognize development prospects, and rethink "how to adapt."

(Photo by Liang Pengwei)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor put forward the development strategy of the "Northern Metropolis" when he published the last "policy address" in his term in early October. Apart from the short-lived praise from the establishment camp, the current 7th Legislative Council elections are not much. Discussion, the general public is almost indifferent.

In the face of this cold front, Li Xiaojia, who resigned from the post of chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at the end of last year, suddenly threw a torch-advocating the development of the "Northern Metropolis" with the concept of "One Hong Kong, Two Systems" and formulating a distinction. The "Northern Special Zone Law" based on the traditional development model, thus discarding the untimely systems that severely affected production power and restricting the allocation of resources, and moderately absorbed the superior mechanism including the excellent policies of the Mainland-instantaneously aroused social discussions.

Many of them agree that following the old law will inevitably slow down the pace of development, but some are worried that copying the one system in the mainland may gradually change the one system in Hong Kong and cause the division of the North and the South. Some even guess that Li Xiaojia, who was quite low-key in the past, suddenly spoke out and may intentionally abandon the business. Politics.

"As an ordinary Hong Kong person, can't you care about the future of Hong Kong? Many people who love and have ideas about Hong Kong don't necessarily want to be officials." Li Xiaojia accepted an interview with "Hong Kong 01" a few days ago , Described himself as an ordinary Hong Kong citizen who "has nothing to do with everything," and laughed at all speculations of the outside world.

There are actually two main reasons why he rarely speaks about Hong Kong issues. First, I feel that whenever Hong Kong discusses development paths, society will always fall into the binary opposition of "change and unchanged", which is quite a pity; second, I believe that the "Northern Metropolis" is definitely a good opportunity for reforms to re-start Hong Kong's development engine, but I am worried that the existing governance mechanisms and operating logic may not be suitable for emerging development regions, but it is a good thing.

Therefore, Li Xiaojia carefully sorted out the underlying reasons for "resisting change," and rethinking the meaning of "one country, two systems," and wanted to dismantle and break the situation for Hong Kong.

Li Xiaojia believes that the "Northern Metropolis" is definitely a good opportunity for reforms to re-start Hong Kong's development engine. However, he is worried that the existing governance mechanisms and operating logic may not be suitable for emerging development areas, but bad things.

(Report on the Development Strategy of the Northern Metropolitan Area)

In Li Xiaojia’s view, Hong Kong under "one country, two systems" has two core functions-from a "horizontal" perspective, it is like a "converter" that connects China and foreign countries. The country has played an extremely powerful role in assisting and stimulating the country’s construction of a socialist system with Chinese characteristics and "reform and opening up". It is also the country’s only common law jurisdiction. It values ​​the spirit of the rule of law, maintains judicial independence, and emphasizes procedural justice. World trust; from a "vertical" point of view, it is related to the performance of Hong Kong’s internal governance mechanism, covering the superstructure, economic foundation, development planning, people’s livelihood, public opinion response, competition and cooperation with surrounding areas, etc. In recent years, in view of the prominent social contradictions and With the rapid growth of Shenzhen's economy, Hong Kong has to actively explore the hinterland of the mainland market in order to create new momentum and use it to solve its own difficulties.

However, just as Hong Kong began to enhance its "vertical" function by "integrating into the overall national development", there was an objection to the society, worrying that "integration" would endanger the "horizontal" function, turning "one country, two systems" into "one country, one system". system".

"Hong Kong is often in the midst of these two kinds of discourses. It seems that as long as "integration" becomes "one system", if you insist on the "two systems" you absolutely cannot "integrate", but if you think about it carefully, you will find that "horizontal" There is no inherent contradiction with the "vertical" goals. Instead, they can interact organically, allowing Hong Kong to continue to play an important role that is beneficial to the country and the world. However, they are tied up by the artificially preset ideological framework, which is undesirable. Opposition." Leaving aside the "dual thinking" formed by political ideology, Li Xiaojia observed that there are two phenomena behind "opposition"-the first is that "procedural justice" is overly respected, and the result is inexplicable for emerging things. The second is that the result of resistance and fear not only causes those who want to do things to be restrained, but also gives those who do not want to do things a perfect excuse to stand on the "moral high ground" to rationalize their own inactions, and to treat themselves alive. From the master of the system as the slave of the system, it is forgotten that the emergence of the system is the essence of serving the people, and what ultimately affects the overall development interests of Hong Kong.

Li Xiaojia has always wanted to solve this man-made "impossible task" for Hong Kong, so that its "horizontal" and "vertical" functions can be fully utilized.

Until two months ago, the "Northern Metropolitan Development Strategy", which accounted for nearly one-third of Hong Kong's area, was released, which not only gave Hong Kong a new possibility in the future-such as establishing a "Central Business District" alongside the Victoria Harbour Center and reversing the occupation. The serious imbalance has relieved the pressure of commuting between North and South, strengthened the supply of housing, industry and public service facilities, further improved the quality of life of Hong Kong people, etc., and inspired Li Xiaojia’s problem-solving ideas, "Look at the changing and unchanging poles In the meantime, can we find a room for reconciliation, learning from Deng Xiaoping's proposal of "one country, two systems" back then, we will also come to a "one Hong Kong, two systems" and a "special zone in a special zone"."

Li Xiaojia hopes that society will gather attention to discuss the development of the "Northern Metropolis" instead of advocating mechanically copying certain systems.

(Photo by Liang Pengwei)

For those familiar with the country’s development and reform process, this pragmatic approach of adopting special policies in special fields is not difficult to understand; however, many Hong Kong people are not easy to digest at first glance, and even trigger some reveries. And fear—for example, in terms of development thinking, “one port, two systems” will inevitably be placed on the opposite of “one country, two systems”; and at the implementation level, “one port, two systems” will inevitably be understood as “one port, two systems”. "Implement Hong Kong one system and mainland one system at the same time", and then simplified the "special zone in the SAR" into a region full of divisions, and even mistakenly thought that the "Northern Metropolis" might become a "Mainland Special Economic Zone", but not Understand that the so-called "special zone" clearly has the dual meaning of "emancipating the mind" and "reforming governance."

Li Xiaojia, who has been working in Hong Kong for at least 10 years, can understand the general misunderstanding of Hong Kong people. He did not blame anyone for taking him out of context. Instead, he repeatedly deduced him and wanted to give everyone a clear explanation.

He reiterated that the reason for proposing "One Hong Kong, Two Systems" is to hope that society will gather attention to discuss how the "Northern Metropolis" will develop, so as to break through the old thinking framework and recognize future development prospects, rather than advocating mechanically copying certain systems. .

In this regard, he added three dimensions of thinking:

First, what is the logic of "One Country, Two Systems" and "One Hong Kong, Two Systems"?

From the perspective of the dialectical unity of "one country, two systems", "the "two" system in it is not a simple digital concept, but under the framework of "one country". Compared with the various systems other than "one", there is a big one. In the same way, the “One Hong Kong, Two Systems” system also has a certain degree of flexibility. It can learn from the excellent mainland systems to make up for the shortcomings, but it is not limited to stealing lessons from the mainland. At the same time, it will continue to embrace the world. And the world, we will learn from whoever is good, but we will not lose ourselves as a result.”

Second, what is the difference between "One Country, Two Systems" and "One Hong Kong, Two Systems"?

"One country, two systems" are two major systems built on physical boundaries, legal boundaries, political boundaries, and economic boundaries, while "one port, two systems" involves only changes in governance models and operational logic, combining "effective government" with "effective government". The market" does not involve changes in the political system or capitalism. "Simply put, it is still Hong Kong physically, but in terms of land expropriation, development planning, industrial policy, etc., it will follow a more flexible approach. manage."

Third, why do we need to treat Hong Kong differently between North and South?

Judging from the above-mentioned core functions of "One Country, Two Systems", the two development regions of North and South Hong Kong can well share the core functions of "horizontal" and "vertical", that is, "South Hong Kong" continues to pursue extremely rigorous "procedural justice" and Maintain the existing huge interest structure and continue to gain high trust from the international community, while "Northern Hong Kong" strives to improve the quality of local governance through emerging development models. "But it definitely does not mean that we need to abandon "procedural justice", but must maintain this Under the principle of core values, in response to the different development conditions of the "Northern Metropolis", such as unreleased land potential, uncomplicated interest pattern, higher requirements for fairness and justice, etc., re-examine which rules are long out of date , And then demolish the wall to loosen it, so that it can improve production efficiency and open up more space value.” Furthermore, if there is no distinction, it may change the good system. It is better to narrow the scope of reform to a certain extent. Try it out within the framework.

The growth of the low-income population in Hong Kong far exceeds the growth of the high-income population, but the upward mobility mechanism has stagnated and social contradictions have become increasingly apparent.

(Profile picture)

"For a long time in the past, Hong Kong really did not need to change, but today there are two changes that have caused Hong Kong to think about changes seriously." The "two changes" referred to by Li Xiaojia are also the two major decisions that Hong Kong had to make. problem--

First of all, the population capacity of Hong Kong has far exceeded the load capacity of the original system. The low-income population has grown much faster than the high-income population. However, the manufacturing industry used to support grassroots livelihoods is slowly disappearing, leading to the upward trend of this class. Flow has stagnated, but it is difficult for the whole society to reorganize the distribution mechanism on a large scale at once, because most of the middle-class and elites are still facing a vibrant city. Then, should we abandon those grassroots citizens? Regardless?

Second, the northern part of the New Territories has been neglected for many years, especially the border area with Shenzhen is even more barren. However, Nanshan and Qianhai, which are separated by a river, are already full of gold. So, should we still resolutely keep our distance? If you don’t hurry to establish a new competition and cooperation relationship, do you still not think about how to accelerate the conversion of hinterland value to solve local problems as soon as possible?

If the answer to both questions is "no", there is really no reason for us to continue entangled "whether or not to change" or not to find ways to "speed up the response". "

"I'm very anxious. The concept of "Northern Metropolis" is so good. Don't let the controversy disappear again at once, and we must use new methods to develop, otherwise we will not be able to do anything in another 50 years." Li Xiaojia emphasized , The key proposition of "One Hong Kong, Two Systems" is not "should change" but "how to respond." Therefore, all sectors of society may wish to actively think about what is the bottom line that cannot be crossed, and what must be kept up with the times and broken. "So, between the change and the unchanging, the key lies in how we understand the problem we want to solve the most, and what price conditions we are prepared to pay for it, what reasonable benefits can be exchanged for it, and what is absolutely impossible Change?"

After Li Xiaojia stepped down as the chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, he "has nothing to do with nothing," feeling that whenever Hong Kong discusses the development path, he will always fall into the opposition of "change and the same," so he started discussing political issues.

(Photo by Liang Pengwei)

As for how to "think about change" in detail, Li Xiaojia did not give a detailed plan, but put forward three basic principles, hoping to use this to stimulate discussion and intensify discussions from all walks of life.

First, rationally distinguish between true and false issues. For example, some discussions worry that the introduction of some of the mainland's excellent mechanisms will lead to the full inlandization of Hong Kong, which may be an over-imagining that is out of reality.

Second, there are indeed some development problems in Hong Kong, but it does not mean that it must be overthrown, and it will not be fully handed over to the National Development and Reform Commission for planning and development. However, the SAR government and the civil service team must actively demonstrate governance commitments.

Third, Hong Kong’s maritime law system is different from the civil law system. The legislative logic of both follows the "blacklist system" and the "whitelist system." If you can do it, wait until something goes wrong before restricting it; the whitelist is to set up what you can do first, if it is not on the list, it is generally not easy to do it", even if it is in the "Northern Metropolis" The Northern Special Administrative Region Act should also continue to use the blacklist system of the Law of the Sea system in order to effectively encourage innovation.

Li Xiaojia added that if Hong Kong under "One Country, Two Systems" is a "converter" between China and foreign countries, then taking advantage of the "dual cycle" strategy, "North Hong Kong" and "North Hong Kong" under "One Hong Kong, Two Systems" South Hong Kong has the potential to act as a "translator" between "Hong Kong and the Mainland" and even "the Mainland and the world."

Because if a country wants to become an economy that truly affects global development, it means that mainland standards and world standards must be mutually integrated and compatible, and "North Hong Kong" can take advantage of the "internal circulation" of domestic demand expansion and consumption upgrades to moderately compete with the mainland. Standards docking, thus expanding the market and industrial base, "Southern Hong Kong" can play a forward role in the "outer cycle" of national and international standards, not only to help mainland enterprises to achieve internationalization of international business, but also to help mainland enterprises in the domestic market The internationalization of the business has helped the country participate in the formulation of a new set of international rules and standards.

"When you think about your options seriously, you will know exactly where you have a way to go, or why you have no way to go, and then you have to lead the public to make choices." Li Xiaojia said frankly that everything must balance Hong Kong. The overall costs and benefits, and social controversy is understandable, but the SAR government can’t get caught up in the dispute and hesitate. “Just like the customs clearance issue caused by the new crown virus epidemic, do you want to give priority to customs clearance with the mainland, or do you want to negotiate with the mainland? For customs clearance in the world, you should always weigh the weights and try to persuade the opposing party, so that at least there is someone from the other party who supports you, and you will not always stand on the opposite side of the citizens.”

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2021-12-04

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