Opinion | Hong Kong Is a Work in Progress

Likewise with the Hong Kong government’s recent drive to amend the extradition laws. The scale and violence of the protests against the proposed bill — leading to the unprecedented capture of the Legislative Council on Monday — amply demonstrates that deep and rancorous divisions remain in Hong Kong’s society.

There are also highly divergent visions of Hong Kong’s relationship with its motherland and its place in the Chinese nation. At one end of the spectrum are democrats, localists and advocates of independence who urge maintaining a “firewall” between mainland China and Hong Kong or even moving toward a complete separation. At the other end, are patriots or nationalists who preach nothing short of total integration. (The authorities in Beijing, for their part, insist that Hong Kong is “an inalienable part” of China but with “a high degree of autonomy.”)

Nothing justifies violence, but given these divisions, the young of Hong Kong can be forgiven for feeling frustrated, helpless and even angry at the lack of direction and of a common vision for Hong Kong’s future. They also face a growing wealth gap, an acute land and housing crisis and shrinking opportunities for upward mobility given rising competition from elites and entrepreneurs from mainland China. Successive Hong Kong leaders have failed to convince them that Hong Kong’s future will be brighter than were its days before reunification.

Yet it would be fatuous to give up on “one country, two systems.” The Basic Law remains the best guarantee of maintaining Hong Kong’s separate system, its rights and freedoms and its unique lifestyle. Without it, Hong Kong would lose its economic and political influence over mainland China. It would, indeed, become just another Chinese city — which is just what the protesters fear.

Hong Kong’s culture, noisy and boisterous — at times, even dangerously rebellious — shows no signs of abating. The people of Hong Kong who are seeking more autonomy, more rights and more freedoms than the Basic Law allows should not make the best the enemy of the good.

“One country, two systems” is a political compromise, and it takes mutual understanding and restraint to maintain the delicate balance it requires. The world is showing great concern for the city’s welfare. But the onus remains on the leaders of Hong Kong to convince the Chinese authorities of what is best for the city — and to win the support of the masses by showing them that a measured and holistic interpretation of the Basic Law can resolve Hong Kong’s residual conflicts.

Regina Ip is a member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council.

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