China’s Crackdown in Hong Kong
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

If China had honored the political commitments it made before taking control of Hong Kong from Britain in 1997, it is likely there would be noprotests in the city streets and no crackdown over the weekend by riot police using tear gas, pepper spray and batons against pro-democracy demonstrators.

Instead, the government in Beijing, ever fearful of its people, reneged on promises and allowed or ordered Hong Kong authorities to attack students and other citizens demanding democratic elections in Hong Kong. The pro-democracy protesters were so enraged that thousands defied a government call on Monday to abandon street blockades across the city. On Tuesday morning, tens of thousands, including many new recruits angered by the police actions, had again filled the city center.

When the Chinese Army entered Hong Kong in July 1997 and peacefully reclaimed the city after more than 150 years of British rule, there was reason to hope that China would fulfill its promise to maintain “one country, two systems” until 2047. For one thing, both Britain and the United States offered themselves as guarantors of the transition agreement, although they now seem less interested in that responsibility. For another, Hong Kong had begun to establish itself as an economically vibrant society, which China hoped to replicate on the mainland.

The agreement signed by Britain and China allowed Hong Kong to retain its free-market economy, a legal system with an independent judiciary and other rights, including greater civil liberties than residents of the mainland. China also promised free elections for Hong Kong’s chief executive in 2017, but, late last month, China’s legislature called for limiting the candidates who would be allowed to run, among other restrictions. With the government insisting on controlling the nomination process, the protesters’ demand for fully democratic elections looked to be slipping away, so they took to the streets.

President Xi Jinping of China has established himself as an autocratic leader, so there is no telling how far he would go if the pro-democracy forces keep standing their ground. He has shown no mercy against Uighur separatists in Xinjiang, and he has made sure that government censors tightened controls on Instagram and other Internet programs in Hong Kong. It is hard not to fear a repeat of the bloody crackdown 25 years ago against protesters in Tiananmen Square that killed hundreds.

Such an outcome would be devastating for the people of Hong Kong and would severely damage — if not obliterate — the political stability that multinational corporations have long relied on for doing business there. In fact, as tensions over the election issue increased in recent months, some risk-averse corporations in Hong Kong have moved their headquarters to Singapore.

The crisis is also raising concerns in Taiwan, a self-governing island that the Chinese government insists is a province of China that must one day be reunited with the mainland. After what’s happened in Hong Kong, the Taiwanese will have no reason ever to trust China’s promise of “one country, two systems.”

紐時社論：看香港 台沒理由相信一國兩制

紐約時報社論指出，假如北京當局信守1997年香港回歸前所作的政治承諾，香港街頭今天可能就不會出現示威和催淚瓦斯、辣椒噴霧和警棍鎮壓的場面。

人民解放軍1997年七月進入香港時，各界有充分理由相信北京會履行「一國兩制」、「五十年不變」的承諾。原因之一是英國與美國好比是香港移交協定的保證人，雖然現在似乎不太認帳。原因之二則是香港當時已經是經濟蓬勃發展的社會，北京當局希望能將香港經驗複製到內地。

倫敦與北京簽署的協定，允許香港維持自由市場經濟、獨立審判的司法體系與其他權利，包括比大陸居民更多的公民權利，以及2017年由港人直選特首。北京人大常委卻在上個月底通過由「提名委員會」提名特首候選人的決議案，等於對普選加上框架，民眾於是走上街頭。

紐時社論指出，習近平作風強硬，對鎮壓疆獨運動毫不手軟，也加緊管控香港的社群媒體和網路。如果示威群眾不退，習近平會如何回應，目前不得而知，但很難不擔心廿五年前的「六四天安門事件」歷史重演。

倘若情勢發展至此，紐時社論認為，除了港人受到傷害，在香港做生意的跨國企業也會因為政局不穩定而出走。其實，最近幾個月以來，已有數家企業將總部由香港遷往新加坡。

香港的動盪也引起台灣的關切。社論中說，看到香港的情況，北京政府一再堅持的一國兩制，台灣民眾沒有相信的理由了。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/30/opinion/chinas-crackdown-in-hong-kong.html

2014-10-01．聯合報．A2．港爭民主風潮經濟衝擊．編譯張佑生