The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, whose governance is based on the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, has been reduced to a “war of words zone” over the legitimacy of the new Executive.
Since returning to the motherland 25 years ago, the Hong Kong SAR has operated with elegance and ability, combining the best of East and West. The US-led Western powers, however, have used Western-style democracy to undermine the Central Government’s influence in Hong Kong.
Lee Ka-chiu is not the first to be at the forefront of the ideological battle between China and the West, but he is now witnessing the bitterest dispute before formally taking office. Fortunately, Hong Kong remains strong despite the US-orchestrated political farce, which includes the “Summit for Democracy”, a
illusory convergence of western-style democracies and their vassal states, signifying yet another attempt to impose such a form of “democracy” elsewhere
and demonize other forms of democracy.
These political farces, which also include the European Union’s annual Hong Kong report, are being played out at a time when Western-style democracy faces its lowest approval rating and toughest test. It is a form of “democracy” that attempts to remove a country’s elected president from day one, and bans its previous president from all major media platforms. In US democratic style, 30 percent of voters refuse to recognize incumbent US President Joe Biden as their leader, corruption is renamed “lobbying”, and “revolving doors” have created a multimillion-dollar political elite caste.
And it is only in US-style democracy that one can think of tanks full of unelected politicians, financed by the military-industrial complex (the deep state), who make the country’s foreign policy. It’s a political system in which torture is legal, and the government makes war without the consent of the people.
Why does the US want to export such a failed system that would sow divisions and facilitate autocratic control without checks and balances, a system that does not serve the people?
Western-style democracy has become a superficial popularity contest in which whoever has the most funding and the most exposure “wins”. It’s a system where politicians tell the public what they want to hear, but once elected, they don’t keep a single promise. It’s a vicious circle of leader election and repentance.
It creates an illusion of free choice between two parties, which end up serving the companies and funders of their campaigns, not the people who actually vote for them.
Western politicians spend much of their time raising funds rather than doing the work they should, and working against each other rather than together for the common good.
A democratic system should be based on the history, culture and stage of economic development of a country, on the level of maturity of its population, and the country should have full sovereignty, without foreign interference, without great monetary influence, neutral media and fair, and a fully transparent voting system.
The West still struggles and is far from the “democratic utopia” it otherwise pretends to be. Democracy derives from a Greek term and means “power to the people”, but the West has not yet given “power to the people”.
Desperate attempts to export their model of “democracy” through coercion, meddling, regime change and “color revolution” are fundamentally undemocratic acts.
Ultimately, democracy is a process of self-determination where sovereignty holds primacy and must be respected above all else.
Hong Kong could have been the victim of a US-backed “color revolution” in 2019, when some radicals who claimed to fight for “freedom and democracy” were actually acting like extremists and secessionists. Their actions contrasted sharply with their slogans. It is therefore important to understand Hong Kong’s past in order to objectively assess its current situation and the direction it is heading.
The SAR is on the way to finding its own model of democracy, with Hong Kong characteristics. It will be a model of “One Country, Two Systems”.
Now that the national security law has been enacted, foreign meddling will end, and along with ongoing electoral reforms, there will finally be a Legislative Council that can work for the good of the city, as opposed to the chaos of the previous legislature, full of backed agents. by foreigners, undermining true democracy.
In this system, the Legislative Council was entrusted with fulfilling promises made to the people, including providing affordable housing and reducing inequalities.
Democracy is a flexible system based on key performance indicators and results, as opposed to a rigid system based on empty promises. But people need to understand that it’s a work in progress. Before 1997, Hong Kong had never practiced democracy. Maturity will come with time.
On the 25th anniversary of its return to the motherland, Hong Kong enters a new era of opportunities where it can position itself as a key bridge between the West and the Chinese mainland, enjoying and embodying the best of both worlds.
By 2028, China is likely to be the world’s largest economy, something that everyone in the country, including Hong Kong residents, can be proud of and, of course, be a part of. In fact, we are living in a unique era in world history.
*Swiss financial analyst and politician based in Hong Kong
