Volume II. No. 45
 05-01-04
 One Country, Two Systems
 { The Big Lie Revealed In Hong Kong }
 author: Vance Cureton
 © Copyright 2004
 

 Once upon a time, the city of Hong Kong was known as the "Jewel Of The
 Orient." A place where well-educated Westerners could dabble in business.
 Or where the idle rich from all corners of the world, could treat themselves 
 to the exotic pleasures of this city on the South China Sea. Little did it matter 
 to these enraptured "foreigners" that Hong Kong was ruled by an Imperialist 
 power. And that the poorest of the poor lived in squalor and filth, just outside 
 the boundaries of the city proper. 

 Such was life in almost any large Asian city. Hong Kong was simply more 
 gilded in the center than most. But the inequities between the haves and 
 the have-nots was just as stark. And when the British handed over the keys 
 to city, so to speak, in 1997. There were great fears among the residents of 
 Hong Kong that dark days were coming. The gray indifference of the 
 communist regime to the north would descend upon the city, and sap the 
 life out of the vibrant streets of financial district. In other words, the Hong 
 Kong financial bubble would burst under the oppressive weight of totalitarianism

 Well, Hong Kong did not exactly descend into economic decay the moment 
 the communists came to town. Instead this week, the city has lost something 
 of even greater value. The illusion that Hong Kong residents could "breathe 
 free" and sample representative democracy by 2008. This had been promised
 under the doctrine of "One Country, Two Systems" that Beijing postulated,
 as they shoved the British out the door. But, those promises were mere empty 
 words. Intended more for the ears of the departing British, than the residents
 of Hong Kong.

 China has announced quite forcefully that Hong Kong residents will not be
 allowed to elect the next chief executive in 2007. And to add more to this
 insult, neither will they be allowed more direct participation in legislative
 elections in 2008. -- The citizens of Hong Kong were quite correct in their
doubts as to the future once the British had departed for good.

 Surely the people of Taiwan are watching. Aware now, that the old men in
 Beijing cannot be trusted to keep their word. The twin priciples of democracy 
 and "true" political freedom are incompatible with any repressive communistic 
 regime. "One Country, Two Systems" was a doomed concept from the very 
 beginning.

 The residents of Hong Kong cannot be granted the right to universal suffrage 
 now, as this poses a wildcard threat to the hollow political changes that have 
 been permitted on the mainland. If the residents of Hong Kong are allowed 
 to prosper under full, representative democracy, and to enjoy freedoms their
 mainland cousins cannot, this will foster political disaffection amongst the
 Chinese up north.

 The old men in Beijing are attempting an almost impossible political balancing 
 act. And this idea is not lost upon them. There are now wealthy Chinese 
 entrepreneurs by the thousands. And scores of millionaires with ties to the 
 open West. To Europe. To South America. Even to Africa. Likewise, Western 
 investors are eager to take a gamble on the Chinese economy, that for the 
 moment, is the most promising in all of Asia.

 In other words, China is a ticking time bomb. For with economic prosperity 
 comes a political restlessness. A longing to have a true voice in one's own 
 affairs. A desire not to be ruled by fiat, from afar. But, by leaders who are 
 responsive - and accountable - to the local populace. The faux prosperity 
 of the departed Soviet Union was no real threat to the leadership in Moscow. 
 But the revolution of ideas and ambition that is gradually taking hold in the 
 Chinese countryside, in Hong Kong, and in politically-displaced Taiwan is 
 a tremendous threat to Beijing.

 And what of the rest of the world? When one billion people rise up and begin
 a chorus. A cry for freedom. The world will immediately take notice. "Tiananmen" 
 happened in 1989 when many homes in Western societies were not yet wired
 for cable. And the internet - as it exists today - was years, away. The news of 
 a new Tiananmen Square uprising will spread across the globe like a firestorm. 
 And the communist authorities in Beijing, will not be able to suppress it. -- No 
 more so than they could silence the rumors of a deadly flu outbreak in Guangdong
 province last year.

 The new "Tiananmen" will begin humbly in a factory warehouse. The inner 
 sanctum of a forbidden church. Behind the curtains of an illegal gambling club. 
 In the overcrowded wing of a hospital ward. In the backseat of a limousine
 cruising down a Beijing boulevard.

 But, for now. The balancing act will continue. The Olympics are coming. And
 this will make the old men in Beijing even more afraid. They will yield to their
 repressive instincts by arresting political dissidents on trumped-up charges. 
 And will continue the baiting of independent Taiwan. The rulers in Beijing will 
 demonstrate their contempt for Western opinion. They will use their tired refrain 
 about "the internal affairs of China."

 The human spirit longs to be free. Chains do not become us. And the Chinese 
 people are no different than any other race. No different than the people of 
 Eastern Europe. No different from the black South Africans who suffered 
 under a brutal apartheid system of government. Or the Dalits { untouchables }
 who have known repression because of the caste system in India. And even 
 in the Muslim world, where the searing hot fire of Fundamentalist Islam will 
 soon burn itself out, and be replaced by societal reform in one Muslim country 
 after another. No longer a dream, the modernization of Islam will become a 
 reality.

 Our human spirit is our greatest strength. And such a spirit cannot forever be
 quashed by any political system, no matter how repressive. The Chinese people 
 will one day be free of the intractable grip of totalitarianism. In fact, the freedom 
 cry that will one day echo around the world will likely not erupt in either Hong 
 Kong or Taiwan, but on the Chinese mainland.

 The question ultimately, is not "if" one billion Chinese will have a full taste 
 of freedom and democracy. But, when.
 

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