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HK serves as warning,
academic says
WAKEUP CALL: Chen Yi-chi told a seminar that
even as Hong Kong is trying to break away from Beijing¡¦s ¡¥one country, two
systems¡¦ lies, Taiwan is throwing itself to China
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The rising localization movement and desperate calls for democratization in Hong
Kong serve as a warning to Taiwan, where Sinicization and the weakening
localization movement were grave concerns, an academic said yesterday on the eve
of the 16th anniversary of the territory¡¦s handover to China.
¡§The situation in almost every aspect of life in Hong Kong has gotten so bad
that Hong Kong independence ¡X for which support remains very weak, however ¡X has
been mentioned among the people,¡¨ said Chen Yi-chi (³¯«³»ô), a doctoral candidate
at University of Leiden in the Netherlands.
Chen, who also serves as the secretary-general of the Southern Taiwan Society,
analyzed political, economic and social development in Hong Kong between 1997
and the present and made comparisons between Taiwan and the territory, which was
handed over to China on July 1, 1997, at a seminar organized by the World United
Formosans for Independence (WUFI) Taipei Chapter.
The year 2003 became a watershed year for Hong Kong, which was hit by deflation
¡X a result of the Asian financial crisis, SARS, the controversial Article 23 of
the Hong Kong Basic Law regarding national security and the signing of the
Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which increased Hong Kong¡¦s
economic dependence on Beijing, Chen said.
Since then, the ¡§China factor¡¨ had infiltrated every aspect of the former
British colony as Beijing gradually asserted its political influence and
launched an economic invasion by sending more people to the territory and
siphoning off its educational, medical and business resources.
By the time Hong Kongers ¡§awoke¡¨ from the dream of ¡§one country, two systems¡¨
that Beijing had promised, in about 2011 or last year, it was too late, Chen
said.
Hong Kongers have not only found out that China¡¦s pledge of ¡§keeping Hong Kong¡¦s
¡¥status quo¡¦ intact for 50 years¡¨ was a lie, but have also realized that the
belief of most residents ¡X in particular after the Tiananmen Square Massacre in
1989 ¡X that democracy in Hong Kong would be inevitably tied up with China¡¦s
democratic movement was incorrect, he said.
That was why a proposal of ¡§city-state autonomy¡¨ and a more aggressive
initiative for Hong Kong independence have been floated in recent years as Hong
Kong residents came to know that democracy would not take root there without a
strong grassroots political culture and awareness of their identity, said Chen,
who specializes in political economy and has regularly followed Hong Kong
politics.
Looking back, Hong Kongers were inspired by what happened in Taiwanese politics,
such as the 228 hand-in-hand rally in 2004 and Taiwan¡¦s referendum drives, he
said.
¡§Two things really bother me. First, while Hong Kong is trying to break itself
away from Beijing¡¦s tight rein and its ¡¥one country, two systems¡¦ lie, Taiwan is
rapidly throwing itself to China,¡¨ he said.
¡§Second, Hong Kong residents had no choice about the handover because of the
Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1985, but Taiwanese do. And I¡¦m not sure if
Taiwanese people realize the gravity of their situation,¡¨ he said.
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