2022 has a double symbolic meaning for Hong Kong.
On the one hand, 2022 is the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, and it is also the mid-term moment when Deng Xiaoping promised that "one country, two systems will remain unchanged for 50 years". activities, a number of international forums and seminars, and large-scale exhibitions in Beijing; on the other hand, 2022 is also a turning year for the central government to set things right in Hong Kong. A new stage of "from chaos to governance, from governance to prosperity".
Looking back at the past 25 years, there are always two pictures of Hong Kong: one is the real imagination, which is a collection of the feelings and experiences of every Hong Kong person, including their distrust in the effectiveness of government governance and their distrust of high housing prices. One is the imaginary Hong Kong. As the four little dragons of the past, Hong Kong's unique geographical location and the institutional advantages brought by "one country, two systems" make it undisputedly an important testing ground for China to go global. As the "promised land" of international finance, trade and shipping, Hong Kong has always been associated with prosperity, diversity, democracy, and the rule of law, and it has always been the object of the mainland's attention.
For many people in the mainland, the imagined Hong Kong has overwhelmed the real Hong Kong for many years, so it is difficult for them to understand the big and small events that have taken place in Hong Kong in the past few years, and why there are still a large number of poor people in prosperous and capitalist Hong Kong. , will there be small and cramped housing?
Why would someone openly say such insulting words as "China" in the Legislative Council, targeting the mainland compatriots who are just across a river?
How did Hong Kong, once diverse and ruled by law, become a violent capital overnight?
Why are they both Chinese, "delivering to the middle" has become "sending the end", and the mainland has become a beast?
Why is the mainland's various "care" and concessions to Hong Kong in exchange for confrontation and even hatred?
With these questions in mind, the reporter of "Hong Kong 01" recently had a conversation with Liu Yang, a partner of the Hong Kong office of the British Sheed Law Firm and the vice president of the Hong Kong and Mainland Legal Professional Association.
In June 2010, Liu Yang, who was born in Tianjin, came to Hong Kong through the "Introduction of Mainland Talents Program" after finishing his studies in the UK, and joined a law firm, specializing in shipping, trade litigation and arbitration. It has been 12 years now.
These 12 years have also been a critical period for Hong Kong’s pan-politicization. The whole society has experienced the anti-nationalist movement, the Occupy Central movement, the Mong Kok riots, the Legislative Council swearing-in storm and the anti-amendment turmoil. "Hong Kong Drift", Liu Yang's imagination, feelings, understanding and reflection on Hong Kong not only has a strong individual color, but also provides a realistic path for solving the problem of "two Hong Kong".
"One Dollar" and "Diversity" in Hong Kong
"2010 was the first time I came to Hong Kong. At that time, when I got together with my colleagues and friends in Hong Kong, I would talk about many things, such as the June Fourth issue, the Communist Party issue, and the central government's treatment of Hong Kong. Governance issues, etc.” Because he is engaged in the legal profession, Liu Yang admitted that he will also talk about the interpretation of the law by the National People’s Congress, “My colleagues in Hong Kong would be very disgusted with the interpretation of the law by the National People’s Congress, but at that time the discussion on these matters was open, and everyone wanted to talk about it. What to talk about. Because no matter what stand they hold, they will eventually return to life itself and how to make money.”
After the outbreak of the Occupy Central movement in 2014, Liu Yang began to separate from his local friends in Hong Kong. "The direct consequence of Occupy Central is that everyone has no way to open their minds to talk about politics."
From the first time he set foot in Hong Kong in 2010 to the outbreak of the Occupy Central movement in 2014, from talking freely with local friends in Hong Kong to avoiding politics, the "one yuan" and "diversity" in Hong Kong became clear in Liu Yang's consciousness. The existence of the unity of opposites has also become a key to understanding the real Hong Kong.
"Although Hong Kong is a very diverse society, when it comes to each individual or a group, the information everyone receives and the final output are very unitary." Liu Yang said that this is very different from the mainland , "The mainland may be the message of the unit, but everyone has a diverse mindset. Influenced by Marxist materialism and dialectics, the mainland can be divided into two to look at issues. Any matter can be understood from both positive and negative aspects, but Hong Kong It’s hard to think about things in this way, so that the left side becomes left, the right side becomes more right, and it’s hard to get out.”
The last issue of Apple Daily arrived at a newsstand in Hong Kong in the early hours of Thursday, June 24, 2021.
(AP)
To further support his judgment, Liu Yang deliberately cited two examples.
One is Hong Kong people's understanding of June 4th, and the other is Hong Kong people's choice of media information.
Every year on the June 4th anniversary, a commemorative event is held in Victoria Park in Hong Kong, but "many people in Hong Kong don't know what June 4th is or its ins and outs. Whoever doesn’t reform will step down” I also don’t understand the development of the mainland. Everyone shouts a single slogan, but they don’t know the whole picture behind it.” Similarly, although Hong Kong’s media and information seem to be rich and diverse, “many people really I think reading the article in Apple Daily is enough to understand the world.” Therefore, in Hong Kong, the diverse information space has created individual units.
The Double Misunderstanding Between the Mainland and Hong Kong
The Occupy Central Movement in 2014 was a turning point in the estrangement between Liu Yang and his local friends in Hong Kong. The Mong Kok riots two years later, in Liu Yang’s view, were the key node of the trust rift between Beijing and Hong Kong. Such a rift may seem accidental, but in fact it is inevitable, because it is rooted in a double misunderstanding between the mainland and Hong Kong from the very beginning.
In Hong Kong, although the Constitution and the Basic Law have jointly formed the constitutional foundation of Hong Kong upon the handover, in the past 25 years, many Hong Kong people only know the Basic Law and are used to comparing everything with the "Basic Law". The provisions of the Basic Law, "From each according to his needs," take it for granted that the Constitution is the fundamental law of the country, and it also applies to capitalist Hong Kong.
"In Hong Kong, even if you are engaged in the legal profession and as a judge at the top, your understanding of Hong Kong's law and the rule of law is really the same as it was before 1997, because after the handover, all the legal systems in Hong Kong have been preserved. , people also forget that the premise that this system can be preserved is because of 'one country, two systems', because of the Constitution and the Basic Law, which is the lack of awareness of most Hong Kong people, including myself." "A lot of People mistakenly believe that because of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, Hong Kong has 'one country, two systems', and the Basic Law was formulated to implement the Joint Declaration. People will take this for granted."
It is precisely because of the problem with the cognition of what constitutes Hong Kong's constitutional order that "when Hong Kong defends the rule of law, it will be very different from the central government's expectations for Hong Kong itself." This is why the previous interpretations of the law by the National People's Congress It will cause huge controversy and even disgust in Hong Kong.
Although the NPC's interpretation of the law is both the exercise of power and the fulfillment of its responsibilities, it has sufficient legal rationale and legal basis - the Constitution endows the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress with the power to interpret laws, and Article 158(1) of the Basic Law clearly stipulates that "this Law shall The right to interpret the law belongs to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress." However, in the eyes of many Hong Kong people, the interpretation of the law by the NPC is still an arrogance of power and a harm to the rule of law in Hong Kong.
"When you say you want to defend the rule of law in Hong Kong, but you don't accept the power of the National People's Congress to interpret the law given by the Basic Law, can you say that you are defending the rule of law in Hong Kong? I don't think so."
Therefore, instead of feeling that "the rule of law in Hong Kong is dead" and "the independence of the judiciary is no longer" every time the people in the country are more than the law, it is better to study it, "when you accept that the interpretation of the law is the law of Hong Kong It is very important to ensure that the interpretation of the law is consistent with the spirit of the rule of law in Hong Kong when it is part of the system.”
Since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has interpreted the law five times. Three paragraphs were proposed, and the second and fifth were voluntarily interpreted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
Liu Yang said frankly that the most successful of the five interpretations was the fourth interpretation, namely the "Congo case".
Because "The Hong Kong Life Court wrote an incidental opinion when it was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and there was sufficient communication. Later, the interpretation of the NPC also fully accepted the incidental opinion of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. This not only satisfies the requirements of the Basic Law "The original legislative intent of the Hong Kong side taking the initiative to interpret the law, and at the same time defending Hong Kong's judicial independence." As for the most recent interpretation of the law, that is, why did the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress take the initiative to interpret the law in response to the 2016 Legislative Council swearing-in turmoil, instead of To digest Hong Kong’s internal affairs, Liu Yang believes that on the one hand, it is to prevent problems before they occur, and on the other hand, in Beijing’s view, the NPC’s active interpretation of the law is precisely a kind of protection for the authority of the rule of law in Hong Kong.
The Government Headquarters of the Civil Service Bureau of Hong Kong held a series of lectures on "Understanding the Constitutional Order and Safeguarding National Security" with the theme of ""One Country, Two Systems" and the Practice of the Basic Law".
(Information Services Department)
But beyond Beijing's original intention, there is still room for further improvement at the specific operational level.
In an article published in January 2020, Liu Yang mentioned, "Since the Basic Law clarifies Hong Kong's unique legal system, the central government should also better understand the spirit of the rule of law in Hong Kong that is different from the mainland, and attach importance to Hong Kong's legal system. The world and the whole society are worried that the rule of law may be threatened, so as to better maintain the rule of law in Hong Kong... You must know that the most important features of the procedural justice pursued under the common law system are the transparency of the process of hearing cases and the rationale for making judgments. Therefore, the central government wants to respect the rule of law in Hong Kong from the bottom of its heart. More importantly, when interpreting or making decisions in the future, it can properly follow the "Hong Kong-style thinking", adopt "Hong Kong affairs and Hong Kong affairs", and try its best to Be transparent and open in advance, and fully reasoned afterwards.”
As for Beijing's misunderstanding of Hong Kong, in a nutshell, it is the misunderstanding that "everything will be fine" after the return of Hong Kong's sovereignty, so it has adopted the policy of "well water does not violate river water" for a long time, so that many potential The problems and contradictions of the SAR are either overshadowed by the superficial prosperity and stability, or put on hold indefinitely as the SAR government turns a blind eye.
The outbreak of the anti-amendment turmoil has forced Beijing to completely change its thinking in governing Hong Kong. In Liu Yang's view, although Beijing's thinking and policies in governing Hong Kong are changing, the rule of law is always the biggest constant.
Once you understand this, you will know during the anti-amendment turmoil that Beijing will definitely not dispatch the People's Liberation Army, but will return to the track of the rule of law to stop violence and chaos.
Rebuilding the pride of Hong Kong
Just as the third "Historical Resolution" launched by the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China summed up the CCP's experience and achievements over the past 100 years, in fact, during the 25 years since Hong Kong's return to the world, Beijing has been constantly summarizing its experience in governing Hong Kong and learning from it. lesson.
For example, it is precisely because of the lesson that "everything will be fine when sovereignty is returned", so even after the turmoil against the amendment bill, the "Hong Kong National Security Law" was introduced and the electoral system was reformed, but Beijing did not "lie down" on this, but To further strengthen personnel adjustment and institutional arrangements related to Hong Kong, the recent appointment of Peng Jingtang, deputy chief of staff of the Armed Police Force with senior anti-terrorism experience, to take over as the commander of the People's Liberation Army in Hong Kong is a major breakthrough in personnel arrangements for Hong Kong, and it also prevents Hong Kong from becoming a base against the mainland. , Strictly guard against the intention of the Hong Kong version of the color revolution.
Another example is when the State Council Information Office issued a white paper titled "Democratic Development in Hong Kong under "One Country, Two Systems", which fully learned the lesson of "the embarrassing situation of the CCP's unjustifiable situation on the Hong Kong issue since the return of the Communist Party of China", and used it to once again clarify two realities : Whether Hong Kong people are willing or not, as the designer, founder, defender and promoter of the democratic system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Communist Party of China will exist in a more direct and powerful manner in the second half of "One Country, Two Systems"; It is believed that the goal and vision of "dual universal suffrage" is still Beijing's commitment to Hong Kong and the direction of its future efforts.
With the change of Beijing's thinking of governing Hong Kong, especially the more powerful presence of the Chinese Communist Party, the psychological changes of Hong Kong people are also happening simultaneously.
In the interview, Liu Yang specifically mentioned "attacking the heart as the top, attacking the city as the bottom", intending to illustrate the importance of winning the hearts of Hong Kong.
In fact, promoting Hong Kong's "second return", that is, the return of people's hearts, is also the most solid foundation for Beijing to achieve "one country, two systems".
The key question is, how?
In Liu Yang's view, on the one hand, we must reshape the pride of Hong Kong and make every Hong Konger feel proud and proud of being a Hong Konger.
After the anti-amendment turmoil in 2019 turned into a violent act of sabotage, Liu Yang finally chose to stay in the face of his family's inquiries about "whether he is considering leaving Hong Kong", "Up to now, I have never changed the idea that Hong Kong is my home. Especially after having a child, my belief has been strengthened, because I want to create a better home for my child and build a better Hong Kong." "Let the glory go to Hong Kong, which is exactly what the SAR government should do."
On the other hand, it is necessary to give the people of Hong Kong a real sense of gain and happiness.
"People in Hong Kong may have lived in a 20-square-meter house before the handover, and they may still live in a 20-square-meter house after the handover, or even smaller. Do you think he can miss the Hong Kong British government that gave him a 20-square-meter house?" Liu Yang Tan The experience of reform and opening up in the Mainland is because the reform and opening up initiated by Deng Xiaoping after the ten years of civil turmoil during the Cultural Revolution was precisely through concentrating on construction and single-minded development, giving people a sense of security, satisfaction, and gain, and the CCP finally solved the problem. It is only because of the recognition problem that China has today's international status and development achievements.
Therefore, for today's Hong Kong rulers, "it is very important whether they can put aside the interests of small circles, whether they can think about the problem from the perspective of the overall situation, and propose a path to solve the problem, so that the people of Hong Kong can have a sense of gain and happiness."
"Hong Kong's director, what the country needs" should not stop at slogans
Since the outbreak of the anti-revision bill turmoil, "deep-level contradiction" has become a high-frequency word when people talk about Hong Kong issues. This contradiction is not formed overnight. If we want to resolve it and let Hong Kong people see tangible changes, understanding is action. There is no panacea that will work immediately.
Similar to "deep-level contradiction" as a high-frequency word, it is "Hong Kong's integration into the overall situation of national development".
The former reveals the problem, the latter points the way.
In the 14th Five-Year Plan, in order to promote Hong Kong's integration into the overall development of the country, the new positioning of Hong Kong's "eight centers" has been clarified. In addition, it once again talked about supporting Hong Kong in building an international legal and dispute resolution service center in the Asia-Pacific region.
On August 23, 2021, Huang Liuquan, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council of China, who visited Hong Kong, went to the government headquarters and the Legislative Council to explain the "14th Five-Year Plan" to government officials and lawmakers, which became the focus of the political circle.
(Hong Kong 01)
In Liu Yang's view, in order to truly integrate into the overall national development, Hong Kong must first figure out what "Hong Kong's strengths" and "the country needs".
"It's still stuck on a slogan, how to integrate? What is the overall situation of national development?" Specifically, at the legal level, "When we talk about giving full play to Hong Kong's advantages, where are the advantages? Why do foreigners choose Hong Kong? Why mainland companies Would you choose Hong Kong?” “The biggest advantage of Hong Kong lawyers is that they understand the system of the mainland and the rules of the game in foreign countries.” Therefore, “Only when you understand the situation in the mainland, what is going on in the mainland, the central government is also good , and local governments, only when they concentrate on what they are doing can they give full play to Hong Kong’s strengths and contribute to the country’s needs.”
There is actually a more pressing and broader problem behind "understanding the situation in the Mainland", and that is how to re-understand the Chinese Communist Party.
2021 marks the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. Coupled with the recent events in Hong Kong, this issue is particularly urgent.
For a long time, Hong Kong society has been full of rejection and prejudice against the mainland. Fear of communism and hatred of communism has even become a mainstream sentiment. In the past, Hong Kong media used to portray the mainland as a symbol of ignorance and poverty. .
Stepping out of the "unity" understanding of the mainland and the Chinese Communist Party, and looking at yourself and the world from a truly "multiple" dimension, you can see not only the progress and achievements, problems and contradictions of the mainland, but also the positioning of Hong Kong in a century that has not undergone major changes. and advantages, as well as the shocks and conflicts that Hong Kong, which is on the front line of the Sino-US competition, will inevitably endure, of course, it is necessary to see the sample significance of "one country, two systems" for the mainland and even the world. What should we do in ten years?” The more important proposition is also a necessary prerequisite for Hong Kong rulers to lead Hong Kong to set off again.
In this regard, Liu Yang emphasized, "This is also what I hope the future Hong Kong rulers can think carefully. The same is true for each of us. Find our own position, our own advantages, and know where our market is. Only then can we achieve ourselves, and finally achieve success. This city, more broadly, is also contributing to the country.”
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