The international vision needed by those who govern Hong Kong

We often say that Hong Kong is an international city.

Especially when Hong Kong people learn English since childhood, there should be no barriers to the mastery of the Western world.

It wasn't until the past two years that Hong Kong was involved in the turmoil of Sino-US rivalry, and many people discovered that there were not many people with an international perspective.

Even an elite with power does not necessarily understand what the world is doing.

Hang Lung Properties Chairman Chen Qizong attended the "The Latest Development of Sino-US Relations and Hong Kong's Role" forum hosted by the Center for Chinese Institutions of the University of Hong Kong on Tuesday (23). It’s ignorant and politically naive, so it’s very troublesome," and hope that Hong Kong’s governors will have an international perspective.

Chen Qizong has always been regarded as familiar with Sino-US affairs and had a personal relationship with former US Secretary of State Kissinger. He even dared to buy the US consulate in Hong Kong at Shouson Hill when the Sino-US struggle was in full swing.

But if the United States has had a negative view of China since the 1990s, there is still room for discussion.

Millsheimer: Changing China's Falsehood

As the American international relations scientist John Mearsheimer recently wrote in "Foreign Affairs" magazine, since the United States wooed China to counter the Soviet Union during the Cold War, Washington has adopted a policy of engagement with China instead of containment.

Including granting permanent most-favored-nation status, supporting China's entry into the World Trade Organization, etc., from Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr. to Obama, the presidents of both parties believe that with economic, trade and diplomatic contacts, China's political system will move toward more democracy and freedom.

However, this assumption is based on a wrong concept, that is, the belief that democracy and freedom in the West is the end of history, and that all countries in the world will follow this path along with development.

Trump launched a trade war with China, and his Secretary of State Pompeo admitted in a high-profile manner that the policy of engagement with China had failed, to the Biden administration’s advocacy of competing with China, and acknowledging that the Chinese system could not be changed. This proved that the United States’ previous ideas were only Wishful thinking.

China goes out of its own way

Not only did China fail to follow the path of the European and American systems, but it also took a unique path that performed better than the West in some areas.

Comparing the deficiencies of the United States during the epidemic, the expensive medical burdens of the people, the disparity between the rich and the poor, and class contradictions, these all show that the democratic and free system of the United States is not the only option, let alone the best option.

The so-called Sino-U.S. wrestling is, in the final analysis, a competition between two system models, to see who can better promote overall development, and the progress of the country and the people.

China has gone from hiding its powers and bidding its time in the past to making a difference in recent years. The goal is to establish a fairer international order, not just centering on Europe and the United States.

If we say that we must have an international perspective and not be politically naive, perhaps recent examples should show us the illusion of liberalism and superstition of linear progress, understand the nature of the world's diversity, and each society must have its own value pursuit and system design.

This is the case between China and the United States, as is the collision of European liberal and conservative politics.

In fact, Hong Kong pursues "one country, two systems" instead of the socialist system in the Mainland, nor does it copy the Western political system. In other words, we understand that we need to take a path of our own.

Whether it is looking up at the superficiality of the United States or the political correctness of everything, it will not meet the unique needs of Hong Kong.

A sufficient international and political perspective should enable people to learn from China and foreign countries, learn from each other's strengths, and reflect on prejudices with facts.

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