Exclusive | Hong Kong independence ‘never going to happen’: former governors tell city’s youth to focus on democracy
Patten says calls for independent Hong Kong dilute battle for democracy while Wilson says lack of upward social mobility spurs discontent
However differently they might have led colonial Hong Kong’s dealings with Beijing, David Wilson and Chris Patten agree on one message for Hongkongers 20 years after the handover: Forget the idea of a breakaway city state.
The two ex-governors of the former British colony made the appeal in exclusive interviews with the South China Morning Post as some young people, including those in the post-1997 generation, appear to have lost patience in a sovereign state they blame for the undemocratic political structure back home.
Wilson and Patten were far from critical of the youngsters, however. Instead, both recognised their efforts in shaping a city they call home. But the duo sounded an alarm bell for those whose actions could have gone too far and led to a rebuke from Beijing.
“Hong Kong is not a would-be nation-state,” Patten said. “With no disrespect to the people who advocate this, it is never going to happen.”
Patten, the last British governor before the 1997 transfer of sovereignty, called it a “big mistake” to have allowed the campaign for greater democracy to “morph into” an argument for independence over the past few years, saying: “I think that waters down the support of the overall community for democracy.”
