What China promised Hong Kong
Chris Patten, WashPost
Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, is chancellor of the University of Oxford.
It is not wholly accurate to say that the eyes of the entire world are on Hong Kong. They would be, of course, if people in mainland China were allowed to know what is happening in their country’s most successful city. But China’s government has tried to block news about the Hong Kong democracy demonstrations from reaching the rest of the country — not exactly a sign of confidence on the part of China’s rulers in their system of authoritarian government.
Before suggesting a way forward for Hong Kong’s ham-fisted authorities, I would like to clarify three points.
First, it is a slur on the integrity and principles of Hong Kong’s citizens to assert, as the Chinese government’s propaganda machine does, that they are being manipulated by outside forces. What motivates Hong Kong’s tens of thousands of demonstrators is a passionate belief that they should be able to run their affairs as they were promised, by choosing those who govern them in free and fair elections.
Second, others outside Hong Kong have a legitimate interest in what happens in the city. Hong Kong is a great international center, whose freedoms and autonomy were guaranteed in a treaty registered at the United Nations. In particular, Britain, the other party to this Sino-British Joint Declaration, sought and received guarantees that Hong Kong’s autonomy and liberties would be protected for 50 years.
(More here.)
Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, is chancellor of the University of Oxford.
It is not wholly accurate to say that the eyes of the entire world are on Hong Kong. They would be, of course, if people in mainland China were allowed to know what is happening in their country’s most successful city. But China’s government has tried to block news about the Hong Kong democracy demonstrations from reaching the rest of the country — not exactly a sign of confidence on the part of China’s rulers in their system of authoritarian government.
Before suggesting a way forward for Hong Kong’s ham-fisted authorities, I would like to clarify three points.
First, it is a slur on the integrity and principles of Hong Kong’s citizens to assert, as the Chinese government’s propaganda machine does, that they are being manipulated by outside forces. What motivates Hong Kong’s tens of thousands of demonstrators is a passionate belief that they should be able to run their affairs as they were promised, by choosing those who govern them in free and fair elections.
Second, others outside Hong Kong have a legitimate interest in what happens in the city. Hong Kong is a great international center, whose freedoms and autonomy were guaranteed in a treaty registered at the United Nations. In particular, Britain, the other party to this Sino-British Joint Declaration, sought and received guarantees that Hong Kong’s autonomy and liberties would be protected for 50 years.
(More here.)
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