Golden Eggs
Under the Rule of Communist Law
By Vera Leigh Fennell
Assistant Professor of Political Science
n July 1, 1997, the world witnessed the beginning of a grand experiment. On that day, Hong Kong was returned to the sovereignty of the Chinese government without armed intervention after more than 150 years of British control. During those 150 years, Hong Kong went from being a small but important trading port, linking an isolationist imperial China to the rest of the world, to becoming one of the capitalist world's most important international financial centers. The experiment currently underway will determine whether Hong Kong's bustling international financial community can prosper as a special administrative region under the draconian control of the rule of Communist law.
Although it is far too soon to make assessments of this unprecedented experiment, the supporters of Hong Kong's return to China believe that Beijing will not alter the rule of law in Hong Kong. Because the Chinese Communist Party has used Hong Kong as its gateway to the West, they have a vested interest in continuing its economic prosperity. In a speech given at the end of July, Hong Kong's new chief executive, Tung Chee Hwa, a native of Hong Kong, repeated assurances that the political and financial environment in Hong Kong would not be changed. He said that the rule of law was an essential to Hong Kong's international financial community. The new, Beijing-appointed SAR government would promote a "business as usual" policy. He stated that the Chinese Communist Party has no intention of killing the goose that has produced a wealth of golden eggs.
According to Tung and other pro-China supporters, the return of souvereignty to China will actually increase the level of political participation by native Hong Kongers. They have pointed out that under Beijing's authority, Hong Kongers, who, prior to 1992, had little representation in the British-dominated Legislative Council, are, at long last, ruling Hong Kong. These supporters point out that democratization of Hong Kong was initiated by the then-British foreign secretary, Sir Geoffry Howe, only after the return of Hong Kong to China was being negotiated. Therefore, the supporters say, native ethnic Chinese did not have democracy in their own country when Hong Kong was under British rule. To these people, the leadership of Tung Chee Hwa represents the increased political presence of native ethnic Chinese and reunification is the apotheosis of nationalism.
However, the opponents of the return of souvereignty question whether guarantees of the rule of law will also guarantee Hong Kong's political culture. It has a long history of public political debate that has flourished in an atmosphere of easy access to critical analysis from a variety of viewpoints, both domestic and international. Prior to the return, there were 734 newspapers and magazines published in both English and Chinese in wide circulation, giving Hong Kong the highest newspaper readership in Asia. In its universities and colleges, students and faculty conducted research on a variety of topics with little governmental censorship. The results of their research were studied and used by both indigenous and foreign academics, businessmen and politicians. The number of non-governmental, community-based organizations dramatically increased. These ngos formed around grass-roots issues like affordable housing, environmental protection, artistic expression and the guarantee of equal civil rights for homosexuals, workers and women. These ngos also conducted research and published their analysis of social problems to both an international and a domestic audience.
The object of many of these research projects was "China-watching" - analyzing conditions in Mainland China. The Chinese-language Hong Kong Times has been an important source of information on the condition of labor in China. It frequently has reported on worker unrest, demonstrations and strikes in Shanghai, Tianjin, and the special economic zone, Shenzhen. The English-language South China Morning Post has often been the only English-language source for information on Beijing's poor record on occupational health and safety. The Asian Monitor Research Center has also periodically conducted research on the working conditions in China's major industrial cities and published its results.
The living conditions of Chinese citizens has also been a common research topic. In 1992, the University of Hong Kong published a critique of the successes and failures of the reform of China's socialist social welfare system. In 1994, a non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Hong Kong's gay and lesbian community began lobbying the government. Hoping to create a network with other similar organizations, they were especially interested in contacting gays and lesbians in Mainland China, where homosexual activity is illegal, to offer support and organizational guidance. The Hong Kong Association for the Advancement of Feminism presented its research on sexual harassment and domestic violence in China at the UN Fourth World Women's Conference held in Beijing in 1995. Critical analyses of life under Communist Chinese rule was a favored topic of "China-watchers" everywhere and, because of its location, Hong Kong researchers were especially good China-watchers. The opponents of the return doubt that the rule of Communist law will allow this situation to continue because the Chinese Communist Party has already proven itself notoriously unreceptive to critical analysis of its policies.
How will the rule of Communist law alter Hong Kong's political culture? At present, it is difficult to assess whether the supporters or the opponents have it right. So far, the Beijing-appointed SAR government has closed down none of the universities, newspapers or ngos. This may be because many of these organizations made preemptive changes to placate Beijing before July 1. For example, many reporters who had in the past worked on reports that might anger Beijing in the present were fired and replaced. Many people, including journalists, politicians, researchers and community activists, have simply left Hong Kong. Included among them were the entire leadership of the gay and lesbian rights group and crucial members of the Association for the Advancement of Feminism. As a result, Hong Kong's political culture was diminished even before the People's Liberation Army crossed the border.
On July 1, the Party enacted the rule of Communist law. Its first step was to implement the Basic Law, which makes demonstrations without written police permission illegal and requires special permission from the SAR government for groups to contact foreigners or foreign groups. The media is a special target of the Basic Law. Under it, all media and communications services must register with the government by October 1997. By that time, all news will be routed through the China News Agency, Xinhua, a branch of the government. This means that the variety of researched topics and viewpoints will be silenced, along with the open exchange of information. These crucial aspects of Hong Kong political culture will be dead by October 1997.
But the experiment remains. Can international finance capital prosper in such an atmosphere? Even business benefits from an environment of public debate about governmental policies. Yet, the Communist government of China does not want criticism and, in regaining sovereignty over Hong Kong, its influence has indirectly and directly led to the dismantling of several important organizations where such critical investigations are conducted. So although they have not killed the goose that has been laying golden eggs, they certainly have begun to starve it.
Vera Leigh Fennell is a specialist in Chinese politics and its women's movement. Back to Index