Last governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten calls on Britain to speak up when ‘one country, two systems’ is undermined
At panel addressing free speech and press freedom, he believes former colonial powers ‘should do more’ and ‘say more’
The last governor of Hong Kong has called on Britain to speak up more explicitly for the city whenever the principle of “one country, two systems” is being undermined.
He believed British officials “should do more” and “say more” about Hong Kong.
“I think they have been more explicit in the last year or two about the plain breaches that are undermining the Joint Declaration and the promises made in that by China and Britain,” Patten said. “But I think they should, like the rest of the international community, be more outspoken.”
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The report also warned of “growing concerns” over the issue of free speech in the city.
Patten lamented how the world viewed China, citing former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott in describing the attitude as a mix “of fear and greed”. Patten believed this view brought out the worst in the country.
The former governor reiterated that one country, two systems offered a solution for Hong Kong. He said the underlying problem was that many Chinese had not tried hard enough to understand what the Hong Kong system was.
Meanwhile, young local activists speaking at the same event believed it was difficult to sustain Hongkongers’ enthusiasm in the pro-democracy fight, just weeks away from the fourth anniversary of the Occupy movement.
Agnes Chow Ting, of the youth-led party Demosisto, said sustaining an atmosphere in which everyone cares about the city’s political system was “a very difficult thing for us, as activists or a political party”.
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Wong hoped Hongkongers, who lacked a say three decades ago in discussing the terms of the city’s handover to Chinese rule, could voice their sentiments in the run-up to 2047, when the one country, two systems blueprint expires.