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Hong Kong national security law
OpinionComment
Hanscom Smith
Hanscom Smith

Opinion | Hong Kong democracy: why letting Hong Kong be itself offers best hope for future

  • The best solution to Hong Kong’s challenges is the most obvious – trust the city to work according to the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law
  • Such measures should not be controversial because they reflect institutions, practices and proposals that have been on the table since 1997

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Why you can trust SCMP
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Police officers warn supporters of 47 pro-democracy activists they are violating the national security law outside the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on March 4. Photo: Felix Wong
Hanscom Smith

On my first visit to Hong Kong in the 1990s, I was struck by the city’s vitality, pluralism and openness. From my backpacker hotel, I experienced a dynamic metropolis fuelled by hard work and the free flow of ideas. Hong Kong felt upbeat and alive, a confident city ready to face anything.

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As an American, I felt at home in Hong Kong. Our common histories of openness and diversity are the basis for a strong relationship for more than 175 years. Hong Kong is home to 85,000 Americans and almost 1,300 US companies. 

Shared values and deep people-to-people ties created a firm foundation for friendship. Hong Kong became one of the world’s most developed places precisely because it embraced free exchange, from goods and money to ideas and innovation.

Hong Kong’s success was fundamentally based on the “one country, two systems” framework, including the high degree of autonomy promised to Hong Kong in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the freedoms enshrined in the city’s Basic Law. For many years, our annual Hong Kong Policy Act reports stated that Beijing generally lived up to its commitment to allow Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy.
Sadly, our latest report states the obvious. Beijing continues to dismantle Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy, inconsistent with the China’s obligations under the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong’s Basic Law.
Today, it is harder to recognise the Hong Kong that thrived for so long. The 2019 protest movement revealed widespread dissatisfaction with the government’s ability to address the people’s concerns. Unfortunately, rather than defusing tensions through existing institutions, the authorities took a different approach.
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