One country, two systems

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One country, two systems ( Chinese  一國兩制  /  一国两制 , Pinyin Yì guó liǎng zhì , English One country, two systems ) is a constitutional principle proposed by Deng Xiaoping , the decisive leader of the People's Republic of China , for the reunification of China in the early 1980s Years ago. Deng suggested that there should be only one China , but various Chinese regions such as Hong Kong and Macau and Taiwan could maintain their own capitalist, economic and political systems while the rest of China should use the socialist system . According to this, each of the two regions could continue to have its own political system, legal, economic and financial matters, including external relations with other countries.

According to the official interpretation, one country, two systems means that socialism is maintained within the People's Republic of China , while Hong Kong, Macau and the Republic of China (Taiwan) are allowed to maintain their capitalist system after peaceful reunification. For Hong Kong and Macau this means that since 1997 and 1999, the years when they were returned to the People's Republic of China, the current system may be maintained for another 50 years.

Background related to Hong Kong

Main article: History of Hong Kong

Hong Kong was a crown colony of the United Kingdom , ruled by a governor for 156 years until 1997 (except for four years of Japanese occupation during World War II ) when it was returned to Chinese sovereignty. China had to accept some of the terms set out in the Sino-UK Joint Statement on Hong Kong , such as drafting and adopting Hong Kong's mini-constitution before its return. The Basic Law ensured that Hong Kong could keep its capitalist economic system and its own currency (the Hong Kong dollar ), the legal system, the legislative system and the rights and freedom of the people for fifty years as a special administrative region of China. This will expire in 2047, so the current agreement allows Hong Kong to act as a separate entity rather than part of China in many international settings (e.g. World Trade Organization and Olympic Games ). The Chinese renminbi is not legal tender in Hong Kong. Likewise, the Hong Kong dollar is not accepted in Chinese stores. With this agreement, a permit or visa is required when crossing the borders of Hong Kong and China. Hong Kong people usually have Special Administrative Region passports rather than Chinese passports. The official languages ​​of Hong Kong are an important factor alongside the history of the former colony , which clearly separate Hong Kong and China. The Cantonese language and Hong Kong English are the most commonly used languages ​​in Hong Kong, while Mandarin is the official language of China. The central government in Beijing maintains control over Hong Kong's foreign policy and the legal interpretation of the Basic Law. The latter has led democracy advocates and some Hong Kong residents to argue that the territory has not yet achieved universal suffrage , as the Basic Law promised, which led to mass protests in Hong Kong in 2014 .

Hong Kong and Macau

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Office in Beijing
Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Macau Special Administrative Region Office in Beijing
Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macau Special Administrative Region

Deng Xiaoping, when negotiating with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , when discussing the future of Hong Kong, suggested applying the principle in Hong Kong when the New Territories (including New Kowloon) lease from Hong Kong to the United Kingdom expired in 1997. The same principle should be applied to discussions with Portugal about Macau.

The principle was that after reunification, Hong Kong and Macau, despite being colonies of the United Kingdom and Portugal respectively, and despite socialism with Chinese characteristics , would be allowed to maintain their established system with a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years. What will happen after 2047 (Hong Kong) and 2049 (Macau) has never been publicly announced.

Chapter 1, Article 5 of the Hong Kong Basic Law, the Constitution of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, reads:

"The socialist system and politics are not to be practiced in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the previous capitalist system and way of life will remain unchanged for 50 years."

The establishment of these regions, so-called Special Administrative Zones, is approved under Article 31 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China . It states that the state can establish special administrative zones if necessary, and that the systems to be used in them are prescribed by the law that is ordered by the National People's Congress , taking into account specific conditions.

The Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions were officially established on July 1, 1997 and December 20, 1999, respectively. This happened immediately after the People's Republic of China took over sovereignty over the respective regions.

frame

The Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions are responsible for their domestic affairs, including, but not limited to, the judiciary and courts of last resort, immigration and customs, finance , currencies and extraditions . The special administrative regions are exempt from important cultural effects of mainland laws that rule, Publications abbreviations and public education, and most broadcasting Mandarin to use. Diplomatic relations and the regional defense of the two special administrative areas are, however, the responsibility of the State Council of the People's Republic of China in Beijing.

Hong Kong continues to use general English law and Macau uses the Portuguese civil law system .

implementation

In Hong Kong, the system was implemented through the Basic Law of Hong Kong, which serves as the region's “mini-constitution” and is in line with the Sino-British Joint Declaration . Similar arrangements were made for Macau. Under the respective basic laws, the Special Administrative Zones have a high degree of autonomy and enjoy executive, legislative and independent judicial powers, including the final decision. Within the framework of the basic laws, they maintain their own currencies, formulate their own monetary and financial policies, their own policies on education, culture, sports, the welfare system, and so on.

As is clear from the Basic Law, while the Central People's Government of China is responsible for foreign affairs and defense, in relation to the Special Administrative Zones, representatives of the government of the Special Administrative Zones, as members of the delegations of the People's Republic of China in diplomatic negotiations as well as in other international organizations or Conferences that are restricted to states and affect regions participate. For these international organizations and conferences, which are not limited to states, the Special Administrative Regions on behalf of Hong Kong, China and Macau, and China are allowed to participate. Both the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regions and Macau are, as separate economic entities, members of the World Trade Organization. Hong Kong is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC).

The Hong Kong Basic Law also provides constitutional protection for various basic human rights and freedoms. In particular with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and International Labor Agreements, which are implemented under Article 39 of the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (law granting basic civil rights).

Nonetheless, the governments of the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong see the principle as having been successfully implemented and cite official reports from both the United Kingdom and the United States .

The State Council of the People's Republic of China in Beijing maintains relations with the Hong Kong Government through the State Council's Liaison Office in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. For Macau, Beijing uses the Liaison Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China in the Macau Special Administrative Region. While the Hong Kong Government's counterparties to the Beijing Central People's Government is the Office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in Beijing, and the Macau Office in Beijing is the Office of the Macau Special Administrative Region in Beijing.

Exercising the autonomy of Hong Kong

During the protests in Hong Kong in 2014 , the umbrella movement emerged , in which mostly students demanded more political freedom. The participants called for freedom of choice, democracy and, in particular, they wanted to have a say in the election of the Hong Kong head of administration. The name umbrella movement came about because the students reportedly tried to protect themselves from police pepper spray with umbrellas. Thus the umbrellas became the symbol of movement.

The movement was initiated by a group called Occupy Central with Love & Peace , led by Professor Benny Tai of the Hong Kong University of Law. Groups of students who had nothing to do with this group but who had similar goals also joined the protests. The two most important of these student groups are said to have been 17-year-old Joshua Wong, and 24-year-old Alex Chow, of the Hong Kong Student Union, and his deputy Lester Shum. On Tagesschau.de it was reported in 2016 that Joshua Wong, Alex Chow and Nathan Law were indicted and found guilty as leaders of the umbrella movement, but were released on bail after being found guilty.

After Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, Beijing made a pledge at the unification that Hong Kong citizens would be free to choose their local government. But Beijing seemed to have a different idea of ​​the concept of free elections than the Hong Kong democracy movement. For it seemed as if the Chinese Communist Party would allow the people of Hong Kong to vote freely, but only between candidates who were chosen by Beijing. One of the reasons for the protests by Hong Kong citizens and students was that Beijing had broken its promise to grant them open elections until 2017, which is why they now demanded the implementation of "true universal suffrage".

Several incidents have contributed to parts of the Hong Kong public questioning the People's Republic of China's promise to allow a high level of autonomy in Hong Kong. Some international observers and human rights organizations have expressed doubts about the future of the relatively political freedoms in Hong Kong. In the year after the handover, research showed high levels of satisfaction with Beijing's non-meddling relationship with the former colony.

Last year the Interim Legislative Council passed laws restricting residence rights, which led to a lawsuit against the government that ended in 1999 with a loss to the government by the court of last resort. The government then brought its case to the National People's Congress. The judicial body said it was opposed to what Martin Lee described as "giving away" Hong Kong's autonomy with a silent march. Polls showed that the events had struck public confidence in the government, despite the fact that most took a position in favor of the government over that of the court.

It has been alleged that the draft resolution in Article 23 of the Basic Law in 2003 (which was withdrawn due to massive opposition) would undermine autonomy.

  • Hong Kong's 2014-15 electoral reform

On June 10, 2014, Beijing released a new report claiming authority over the area. This sparked criticism from many people in Hong Kong who said the communist leadership was not keeping its pledges to adhere to the “one country, two systems” policy that allows a democratic, autonomous Hong Kong under Beijing's rule.

The disappearance of five employees at Causeway Bay Books - an independent publisher and bookstore - from October to December 2015 sparked international outcry. At least two of them disappeared in mainland China and one in Thailand . An employee was last seen in Hong Kong, but apparently made his way to Shenzhen, across the Chinese border, without the necessary travel documents. The October disappearances were hushed up amid unexplained disappearances and lengthy extrajudicial detentions in mainland China. The unprecedented disappearance and bizarre circumstances surrounding Hong Kong shook the city and crystallized international concern over the possible kidnapping and rendition of Hong Kong citizens by Chinese public safety officials and the violation of several articles of the Basic Law and the One Country Two. Systems principle.

It was later confirmed that they were detained in mainland China, although most of them had reappeared in Hong Kong and reversed police reports of missing persons. On June 16, 2016, shortly after Lam Wing-kee returned to Hong Kong, he gave a lengthy press conference describing the circumstances and details of his eight months' detention. Lam told how his confession and that of his co-workers had been worked out and staged in writing. Lam indicated that the central investigation team was involved, which is under the direct control of the Beijing leadership at the highest level. His revelations shocked Hong Kong and made headlines around the world, sparking counter-accusations and disputes from mainland authorities and their supporters.

Taiwan

This system was also proposed for Taiwan by the government of the People's Republic of China , but the government of the Republic of China has rejected the proposal. It has also been alleged that the system was originally designed for Taiwan in order to reunite it with the People's Republic of China. More specifically, special provisions for maintaining the military in Taiwan have also been proposed by the Chinese Communist Party (the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China), unlike those of Hong Kong and Macau; as these areas are protected by the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China. However, all major political parties in Taiwan, including those leaning towards Chinese reunification, have strongly opposed “one country, two systems”. Some suggested "One Country, Two Governments" instead, which was totally opposed by the People's Republic of China government, while some suggested that the "One Country" highlighted in the system should be the Republic of China instead of the People's Republic of China. One of the few Taiwanese who have publicly endorsed “One Country, Two Systems” is Li Ao , a mainland-born novelist.

Although the “one country, two systems” ensures that Hong Kong's economic and political systems will not be changed 50 years after the British surrender in 1997, the Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China has cited 169 cases in which they claim that the People's Republic of China violated the rights of the people of Hong Kong to rule themselves and seriously intervened in the judicial system and freedom of speech.

Since Hu Jintao became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China on November 15, 2002 , the People's Republic of China has stopped promoting immediate unification via "one country, two systems", although it has remained official policy. As part of the People's Republic of China's Anti-Secession Act , passed on March 14, 2005, no mention was made of “one country, two systems” in order to prevent the then growing Taiwan independence movement. A new policy of gradual economic integration and political exchange is preferred according to the 1992 consensus . This new policy was highlighted during the April 2005 Pan Blue visits to mainland China and all other major Taiwan-road exchanges. Especially after Ma Ying-jeou of the pro-reunification Kuomintang party won the 2008 presidential election in the Republic of China (Taiwan) . During his visit to Beijing in March 2012, former Kuomintang (KMT) chairman Wu Po-hsiung proposed the framework for “One Country, Two Territories” ( 一 國 兩 區  /  一 国 两 区 , Yì guó liǎng qū  - “One country, two zone ”) to rule cross-strait relations. During the ROC National Day address on October 10, 2013, President Ma Ying-jeou addressed the public. He mentioned that the people on both sides of the strait are all ethnically Chinese and that cross-strait relations are not international relations.

Due to growing pressure for the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party to participate in the cross-strait development in recent years developed by the KMT-CPC, the Democratic Progressive Party eventually loosened its stance on its Taiwan independence movement as the Former chairman Frank Hsieh Chang-ting visited mainland China from October 4-8 , 2012. This is said to have been a seminal visit of the highest rank in the Democratic Progressive Party, although Frank claimed that this trip was carried out in his private capacity and not as a politician. The Democratic Progressive Party founded its party, Committee on China Affairs, on November 21, 2012 and applied for the Broad One China Framework ( 大一 中 , Dà Yì Zhōng ) on May 27, 2014 , by the former chairman Shih Ming-teh was directed.

Compared to the proposals for Tibet

Jiang Shigong (2008) stated that the concept of “one country, two systems” is based on the 17-point agreement for the peaceful liberation of Tibet , signed in 1951. And that its mechanism is similar to how the Qing Emperor integrated his new territories that he had conquered by allowing the local elites in those regions to enjoy power and autonomy for some time without apparently threatening different local customs. Since the term was only a "tactical and temporary agreement," one viewpoint argues that Hong Kong territory will gradually experience the same fate as Tibet since 1959 - forced adjustment and strict, direct control by the central government. Over time, full adjustment and the abolition of local autonomy would take place in a manner that "illustratively represents a similar Chinese imperialist, expansionist mentality".

The international law expert Eckart Klein, however, opposes the arguments based on the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet and stated: “The so-called Seventeen Point Agreement of 1951 in no way represents such approval a contract acts under duress, it is legally invalid. "

The proposal by the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso in 2005 that Tibet should have "high level autonomy" arose out of a position in favor of Tibetan independence and has been compared to "one country, two systems". He said his proposals should be acceptable to China because "one country, two systems" is included in the Chinese constitution. The state media denied this claim, pointing out that "one country, two systems" was designed for the capitalist welfare system of Hong Kong and Macau - something that is said to never have existed in Tibet.

See also

Individual evidence

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  3. ↑ 1898 and all that — a Brief History of Hong Kong , The Economist, June 26, 1997, accessed July 23, 2017
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  6. ^ Yiu-chung Wong, One Country, Two Systems in Crisis: Hong Kong's Transformation , Lexington Books, 2004, ISBN 0-7391-0492-6 , accessed July 23, 2017
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  31. ↑ Eckart Klein, Tibet's Status Under International Law , University of Potsdam, Tibet – Forum, Vol. 2, 1995, accessed on July 23, 2017
  32. ^ "One country, two systems" not possible for Tibet , China Tibet Information Center, Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America, July 28, 2005, accessed July 23, 2017