HONG
KONG -- The principle of "one country, two systems," agreed to by
Deng Xiaoping and Margaret Thatcher to guarantee the special status of Hong
Kong even after the return of sovereignty to China, is losing its luster in the
eyes of many residents of the former British colony. The view seems especially
prevalent in the realm of freedom of expression and the press.
The Hong Kong Journalists Association sounded another
alarm on July 3 in the latest issue of its annual report, which was titled
"One Country, Two Nightmares -- Hong Kong media caught in ideological
battleground." Although the one country, two systems framework has been
deteriorating over almost two decades since the handover, the local reporters
organization is especially wary of "spillover to Hong Kong of Chinese
ideological control," as witnessed in the disappearance of five local
booksellers who sold publications banned on the mainland. Mak Yin-ting, a
former chairwoman of the association and the editor of the annual report, spoke
with the Nikkei Asian Review about the severity of the situation.
Q: The title
of this year's report refers to nightmares, but wasn't it a nightmare already?
A:
It is already a nightmare, but this time we are focusing on the nightmare of
ideological control. In the past, [Beijing] was more focused on press freedom,
as they thought media in Hong Kong were a "subversive base" and they
had to "regain the Hong Kong media." But now they are coming at a
wider spectrum, almost on every aspect related to ideological control --
culture, publication, media -- and taking a more proactive approach under
[President] Xi Jinping. They have a more active role in buying up the media in
Hong Kong [through buying] shares from them, and even building up lots of news
websites in Hong Kong.
Q: How serious
was the impact of the bookseller case on freedom of expression?
A: It
definitely had a chilling effect on the freedom of publication and expression
in Hong Kong. Since the incident, we heard that more publishers refuse to
publish books regarded as sensitive by China. Even street shops are not
selling.
Q: But freedom
of expression has already been under pressure in recent years.
A: The
Chinese government is doing this sector by sector. First in the media, and now
it is the booksellers. Most books that are banned in mainland China come to
Hong Kong for publishing, including memoirs by [former state leaders] Zhao
Ziyang and Li Peng. No matter if you agree [with the content] or not, the most
important thing is that they can come and get published.
We are free to publish everything in Hong Kong. If you
think a publication has infringed on your rights, you can show it in court. But
just taking away someone you think is jeopardizing your rights is not [part of]
Hong Kong's system. The bookseller case, therefore, had an immense chilling
effect.
Q: On June 14
-- when one of the missing booksellers, Lam Wing-kee, returned to Hong Kong --
a daughter of Gao Zhiseng, a prominent human rights lawyer under house arrest
in the inland province of Shaanxi, came to Hong Kong from the U.S. to promote
her father's memoir, which was somehow smuggled out. It was published and sold
in Taiwan, but no Hong Kong booksellers were selling it.
A: That is a very vivid example.
No publishers dare to publish this book in Hong Kong. You could only get it
online or buy it in Taiwan. As a matter of fact, Gao's daughter came to Hong
Kong first, because she was afraid that she would not be able to get into Hong
Kong if she had her press conference first in Taiwan. Imagine how the system
has spilled over to Hong Kong, and how the freedom of publication has been
affected.
Q: Do you think Taiwan will be
taking over the role of Hong Kong, especially now that the Democratic
Progressive Party has replaced the mainland-friendly Nationalists?
A: Hong Kong still enjoys a
geographic advantage in publishing those books, but yes, I can imagine more
books could go to Taiwan. Even though you cannot publish them in Hong Kong,
they could get published anywhere around the world. But the best way is to keep
Hong Kong alive as a publication center.
Q: Are you optimistic or
pessimistic about the future?
A: We always try not to say
whether we are optimistic or pessimistic. We know that the situation is oppressive,
and the role is difficult. But we have to fight for what we deserve and what we
believe in. There still are battlefields to fight on.
Q: But you are fighting
against the world's second largest economy; even Western democracies are
hesitant go against it.
A: We see some backlash. Even
though the U.K. government says it has entered a "golden age" with
China, the Conservative Party published a report [on June 29] saying it is
"the darkest moment" for Hong Kong. This means that even within the
ruling party, [there are factions that] do not agree with the development in
Sino-British [relations] that Prime Minister [David Cameron] has set forth.
China [being] the second largest economy doesn't mean they can control
everything.
Q: Brexit has forced Cameron
to step down. Do you anticipate any impact on the so-called "golden
age"?
A: We have to wait and see. But
[the U.K.] has a moral obligation to Hong Kong as it has put Hong Kong on this
path. The human rights report by the Conservative Party is a good sign. We hope
the British government and the people will uphold the moral obligation toward
Hong Kong and their obligations as an ally in the democratic world to speak out
against suppression of human rights in China.
KENJI KAWASE, Nikkei deputy editor
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