海角大神

Beijing is justifying its sweeping overhaul of Hong Kong鈥檚 electoral system聽鈥� the biggest change to the territory鈥檚 political system since China regained sovereignty over the former British colony in 1997聽鈥� as necessary to put 鈥減atriots鈥� firmly in charge.

The institutional revamping last week effectively excludes pro-democracy candidates and reverses decades of slow progress toward greater representation in Hong Kong. It follows Beijing鈥檚 imposition of a national security law last June that has seen scores of liberal politicians and activists arrested, part of a broader tightening of controls following mass protests for democracy in 2019 and 2020.

鈥淥ne unpatriotic politician is too many,鈥� said Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of Beijing鈥檚 Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, at a press conference on Friday.

The changes approved Thursday by China鈥檚 rubber-stamp parliament, the National People鈥檚 Congress (NPC), will increase the ranks of pro-Beijing members on the committee that selects the territory鈥檚 chief executive, as well as on Hong Kong鈥檚 Legislative Council 鈥� reducing the proportion of directly elected seats.

Beijing created a new vetting body, the 鈥渃andidate qualification review committee,鈥� to screen out those considered insufficiently loyal.

鈥淚f you make nomination effectively impossible for anybody but a die-hard Beijing loyalist, it really doesn鈥檛 matter how many popularly elected seats there are,鈥� notes Alvin Cheung, a Hong Kong barrister and university lecturer now at New York University.

But what does Beijing mean by 鈥減atriots鈥�? For many in Hong Kong, the central government鈥檚 vision of loyalty contrasts with their own views of identity and allegiances 鈥� a clash that could have far-reaching consequences for the territory鈥檚 governance.

Loving patria ... and party

In China, patriotism聽鈥撀�ai guo, or literally 鈥渓ove of country鈥澛犫�� is often viewed against the backdrop of its modern history of foreign invasion and occupation, what Beijing calls the 鈥渃entury of humiliation,鈥� says Peter Hays Gries, professor of Chinese politics at the University of Manchester.

鈥淧atriotism,鈥� he says, 鈥渉as always been defined as anti-imperialist. And as such, it鈥檚 actually closer to what scholars call nationalism.鈥�

Echoing such sentiment, NPC Standing Committee Vice Chairman Wang Chen, presenting Beijing鈥檚 new patriotism requirement, said foreign countries had 鈥渂latantly meddled鈥� in Hong Kong affairs and 鈥渇lagrantly emboldened ... anti-China, destabilizing forces in Hong Kong,鈥� seriously jeopardizing China鈥檚 sovereignty.

Yet while China鈥檚 intention to have patriots running Hong Kong has been consistent since the 1980s, when Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping entered negotiations over the colony鈥檚 future with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Mr. Deng鈥檚 vision was considerably more pragmatic and flexible.

鈥淒eng Xiaoping said clearly that patriots need not be active supporters of the Communist Party,鈥� says Willy Lam, a China politics scholar at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Indeed, in 1987 Mr. Deng said that 鈥渋f some people in Hong Kong criticize the Chinese Communist Party and China, we will allow them to do so,鈥� although he added that they would not be allowed to 鈥渃onvert Hong Kong into a base of opposition to the mainland.鈥�

Today under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in contrast, patriotism is more 鈥渙rthodox and austere,鈥� and requires support for the party, says Mr. Lam.

鈥淲hen we talk about patriotism, we are not talking about the abstraction of loving a cultural or historical China, but rather loving the currently existing People鈥檚 Republic of China under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party,鈥� Song Ru鈥檃n, deputy commissioner of China鈥檚 Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong, told reporters before the reforms were approved.

Distinct identity

But the party鈥檚 litmus test for patriotism lacks resonance in Hong Kong, which has its own unique local identity and nationalism distinct from that of mainland China. A 2019 poll of Hong Kong residents found that three-fourths identify as 鈥淗ong Konger鈥� or 鈥淗ong Konger in China鈥� 鈥� the highest percentage since 1997. Only a quarter expressed pride in being citizens of China, with that figure dropping to 10% among respondents aged 18 to 29.

鈥淎 Hong Kong nationalism鈥� has emerged, focused in part on 鈥渨hat makes Hong Kong different from mainland China politically,鈥� says Dr. Gries 鈥� namely its relative freedom and openness and experiment with democracy.

As Beijing has tightened its grip, it has pushed a growing minority toward supporting independence 鈥� increasing tensions between China鈥檚 nationalistic brand of patriotism and local nationalism in Hong Kong, says Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London.

鈥淲hen the Chinese government or Communist Party or their supporters talk about 鈥榩atriotism,鈥� they don鈥檛 mean patriotism at all,鈥� says Dr. Tsang. 鈥淭hey mean party-centric nationalism,鈥� which revolves around the idea that only the leadership of the Communist Party can 鈥渕ake China great again.鈥�

鈥淭here is no room in that party-centric nationalism to support anything like 鈥楬ong Kong nationalism,鈥欌�� he says.

This clash is also reflected in the different emphasis that mainland Chinese and Hong Kongers place on the 鈥渙ne country, two systems鈥� formula under which Beijing resumed sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997, while agreeing to preserve Hong Kong鈥檚 autonomy for 50 years and expand representative governance. Beijing puts priority on 鈥渙ne country鈥� and sees Hong Kong鈥檚 democratic activists as 鈥渟eparatists who want to humiliate China again by carving up its sovereignty,鈥� says Dr. Gries. For their part, Hong Kongers, who seek to deepen democratic reforms, emphasize 鈥渢wo systems.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 this tragedy ... because both sides believe they are defending 鈥榦ne country, two systems鈥欌�� from attack, he says.

Beijing has maintained Hong Kong鈥檚 capitalist economic system. But its moves to curtail the political freedoms of 鈥渙ne country, two systems鈥� have left many Hong Kongers feeling betrayed, and viewing Chief Executive Carrie Lam鈥檚 government as 鈥渁n arm of the Chinese Communist Party,鈥� says Dr. Gries.

鈥淭he government is completely out of step with the majority of the public who still desire that relatively autonomous rule they were promised under this agreement between the U.K. and China,鈥� he says.

Future leaders

Even before last week鈥檚 reforms, many analysts were concerned about the changing composition of Hong Kong leadership, as pressure grows for aspiring officials to attempt to please Beijing.

One example is Beijing鈥檚 recent imposition of a loyalty oath requirement for Hong Kong鈥檚 180,000-strong civil service. 鈥淥ne of the greatest inheritances Hong Kong got from 150 years of British colonial rule was to have a world-class, impartial, professional civil service,鈥� says Dr. Tsang. 鈥淭he loyalty test means they will no longer be able to stay politically neutral.鈥�

Doubts are also emerging about Hong Kong鈥檚 independent judiciary. Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, said last month that Hong Kong鈥檚 bodies of power, including the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, must be 鈥渞un by genuine patriots.鈥�

Such statements are 鈥渧ery disturbing because the rule of law and independence of the judiciary are remaining cornerstones of Hong Kong鈥檚 success,鈥� says Mr. Lam.

鈥淏eijing only wants people who will respond to a command to jump with the question: How high?鈥� says Mr. Cheung. 鈥淭hey want unquestioning loyalty to the party. That鈥檚 going to sit ill with a lot of people in Hong Kong, many of whom are descended from people who fled the PRC in prior decades.鈥�

Indeed, China has signaled disappointment with the performance of Hong Kong鈥檚 traditional pro-Beijing establishment聽鈥� defeated by a pro-democracy landslide in a November 2019 local election聽鈥� and is moving to inject more mainlanders into the territory鈥檚 governing bodies, Mr. Lam says. These could include party members raised in the mainland and educated in the West who work as professionals in Hong Kong.

鈥淲hen Beijing talks of 鈥榩atriots,鈥� it is referring to politicians like Carrie Lam. Lam is the embodiment of a Beijing-style patriot; she stood firm in the face of pro-democracy protests and praises聽Beijing鈥檚 every move in Hong Kong. The Chinese government鈥檚 electoral reform is designed to plant more 鈥楥arrie Lams鈥� in Hong Kong,鈥� says Diana Fu, associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto.

Yet it was Mrs. Lam鈥檚 response to massive street protests 鈥� considered tone-deaf by many Hong Kongers 鈥� that fueled the very opposition Beijing seeks to avoid. 鈥淲ith all these changes,鈥� says Dr. Tsang, 鈥渋t can only get worse.鈥�