Many Hong Kong people, especially the elite, have long harbored a complex mentality toward the West. This mentality includes admiration and a sense of thrall. Still, at the same time, they feel humiliated and offended because they sense that they are not treated as equals by Westerners despite their efforts to eagerly embrace Western civilization. The reasons for this worshipful mentality toward the West are not difficult to find. They include a long period of colonial education, the cultural discourse dominance that the West has long held in the world, the West’s global political, economic, religious and military hegemony, its advanced economy and high living standards, Westerners’ contempt and rejection of non-Western cultures, Hong Kong’s long-term economic dependence on Western markets, capital and talent, many of Hong Kong’s laws and institutions originating in the West, the popularity of Western lifestyles and tastes, and modern China having been bullied by the West, and China being poor and backward for a long time.
The Hong Kong people’s respect and awe for the West have hindered the comprehensive and accurate implementation of “one country, two systems” (OCTS) in several ways. First, some people in Hong Kong are more likely to agree with the West’s “alternative interpretation” of OCTS. This interpretation is an “alternative interpretation” because its centers on treating the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as an independent political entity, which entirely contradicts the authentic interpretation made by the central government.
In general, many signs have indicated the difficulty implementing OCTS following the city’s return to China because of the dominance of this “alternative interpretation” of OCTS. The SAR government has encountered numerous challenges in governance, and political struggles in Hong Kong have emerged one after another; the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong” has yet to be realized. Hong Kong has even become an insidious threat to national security. Arguably, these disorders and malfunctions are largely related to the unrealistic fantasies about the West held by some Hong Kong people.
However, over the past 10 to 20 years, the West, China, and the relationship between China and the West have undergone significant changes, substantially altering the perception of the West among Hong Kong people and eroding their illusions about it. First, many phenomena violating Western values emerging in the West have disappointed and stunned the people of Hong Kong. Hong Kong people are increasingly aware that the “democratic ideal” touted by the West is far from their political reality. Hong Kong people generally believe that the West is heading toward an irreversible decline and decadence, that Western institutions and culture are closely linked to this decline, and that they are even the leading cause of it.
Second, the US and the West have been constantly harming other countries. After the end of the Cold War, although the US and the West have been advocating world peace, “universal values,” and humanitarianism, they have been incessantly waging wars and aggression against other countries, employing various pretexts. This constant violence has seriously tarnished the lofty moral image of the West in the minds of Hong Kong people.
Third, the US has reversed its original position of actively promoting globalization. Instead, it has become a selfish and self-righteous practitioner of deglobalization, unilateralism, bullying, and protectionism, causing massive disruptions to the world’s economy, finance, and people’s livelihoods.
Fourth, even though some people of Hong Kong have long harbored “anti-communist and anti-China” sentiments, it is difficult for them to ignore the remarkable and unprecedented achievements the country has made in economic development, improvements to people’s livelihoods, poverty alleviation, cutting-edge technology, and national defense over the past few decades.
The growing disillusionment of the people of Hong Kong with the West lately will be crucial to successfully implementing OCTS (“one country, two systems”), promoting Hong Kong’s stability and development in the future, and fostering a solid national identity
Finally, and most importantly, in the process of containing China’s rise, the US and some of its Western allies have entirely changed their positions toward the HKSAR over the past decade and have made Hong Kong their target of suppression, vilification, and isolation. They have often colluded with Hong Kong’s anti-China opposition forces to instigate unrest in the SAR. All of this has awakened an increasing number of Hong Kong people to the sinister machinations of the West, substantially changing their perceptions of the West.
Since the end of the turmoil and violence in Hong Kong several years ago, and the concomitant enactment of laws to safeguard national security, it has been difficult for the West and the local opposition to stir up trouble in Hong Kong. Patriotic forces have gained unprecedented dominance in the ideological, media, cultural, and educational fields in Hong Kong’s history, and seized the opportunity to promote national education and national security education in the city, so that Hong Kong people can have a more objective and accurate understanding of their country and the West, and no longer unquestioningly believe in and admire Western civilization.
Over the past decade or so, the US and the West have become increasingly hostile, discriminatory, and slanderous toward the HKSAR. More and more Hong Kong people, including many “pro-American” elites, are furious about what the US has done to the place they call home. After US President Donald Trump returned to power, he wreaked havoc in the US and the world with abandon, deviating from American core values, undermining core institutions such as the administrative machinery, the courts, and universities, and abandoning its international responsibilities and obligations as a superpower. In Europe, Brexit, the chaotic and turbulent political situation, the rise of right-wing forces, and the lackadaisical performance of the European economy have disheartened many “pro-Western” Hong Kong people.
The increasing disillusionment of Hong Kong people with the West will positively impact Hong Kong’s future development. First, they will increasingly question the accusations made by Western politicians, media, and scholars on the practice of OCTS in the SAR and the central government’s policies toward the city. After the illusions about the West are shattered, education on the national constitution and the Basic Law will be carried out more smoothly and effectively. Increasingly, more Hong Kong people will gain a more precise and accurate understanding of the original intention and core content of OCTS. The successful practice of OCTS in Hong Kong will be further ensured.
Second, as the people of Hong Kong become disillusioned with the West, they become more aware of and alert to what they perceive as the West’s malicious plan to contain China’s rise. Various sabotage actions by the West against China and its HKSAR will increasingly arouse the Hong Kong people’s antipathy toward the West and elevate their awareness and sense of responsibility for maintaining national security.
Third, disillusionment with the West will help strengthen Hong Kong people’s awareness that they and their mainland compatriots belong to a “community of shared destiny”. They will increasingly recognize that Hong Kong’s future is inextricably linked to the country’s future. The SAR will join hands with the motherland to push back against the US’ bullying, which will help accelerate its integration into the overall national development.
Fourth, disillusionment with the West has given the HKSAR a new understanding of the “anti-China” opposition figures, seeing them as a sinister force manipulated by the US and the West to contain China. In the past few years, the people of Hong Kong have not shown sympathy with their legal punishment and political containment, let alone supporting them with practical actions.
Fifth, after more than a century and a half of British rule, many civil servants in the Hong Kong government admire and emulate the West. They often regard the governance ideas of the West and the colonial government as the golden rule and believe the central government’s “50 years of no change” as a legitimate reason to oppose reform. However, since the city’s return to the motherland, the environment inside and outside Hong Kong has changed drastically. Increasingly, civil servants believe that Hong Kong has reached a critical juncture where it must undertake significant reforms and innovations to create a brighter future. This includes reshaping the government’s mentality and mindset, as well as reversing the conservative and complacent thinking of civil servants. The growing disillusionment among senior civil servants with the West will reduce the obstacles encountered in reforming and innovating governance and policies in Hong Kong.
Ultimately, the disillusionment of the Hong Kong people with the West will help strengthen their unity. In the past, there were apparent differences in the attitudes of the city’s elites and the public toward the West and China, with the “pro-Western” elites and masses comprising the majority of society. In recent years, more and more “pro-Western” elites and masses in the city have become furious with the US and Western policies toward China and the SAR, and even their support and sheltering of the “anti-China” opposition figures. The so-called “pro-China” and “pro-Western” ideological barriers among elites will likely disappear more quickly, thereby easing a long-standing political and social contradiction in Hong Kong.
In short, many people in Hong Kong had illusions about the West in the past, which is one of the primary sources of many of the SAR’s problems since its return to China. In contrast, the growing disillusionment of the people of Hong Kong with the West lately will be crucial to successfully implementing OCTS, promoting Hong Kong’s stability and development in the future, and fostering a solid national identity.
The author is a professor emeritus of sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a consultant to the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
