(East-West Question) Qiang Shigong: How to integrate Chinese and Western wisdom to open up a new chapter of "One Country, Two Systems" in Hong Kong?
China News Service, Beijing, June 21, Question: How to integrate Chinese and Western wisdom to open up a new chapter of "One Country, Two Systems" in Hong Kong?
Author Qiang Shigong, Professor of Peking University Law School and Minister of Social Sciences
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong.
With the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the new electoral system, Hong Kong society has changed from chaos to governance, from governance to prosperity, and the "one country, two systems" principle has been stable and far-reaching.
At the critical juncture of the 25th anniversary, we should have further thoughts on the future of Hong Kong, and this kind of thinking should not rest on our laurels, but should learn from the advanced points of the Western political system with an open mind, and integrate Chinese wisdom to explore and solve the Hong Kong issue. and open up a new chapter of "one country, two systems".
Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Wei
1. "Don't forget the original intention": fully understand the uniqueness of Hong Kong in the national strategy
Hong Kong's unique advantage lies in its geography, that is, at the intersection of mainland China and the global maritime world.
Therefore, the central government's strategic positioning of Hong Kong has always focused on global strategies.
Whether we can open up a new chapter of "one country, two systems" depends on how we view the global capitalist system and how we view Hong Kong's position in the national strategy.
The philosophical essence of reform and opening up and "one country, two systems" is to uphold the Chinese wisdom of humility and tolerance, to learn from the cultural knowledge and governance experience of Western civilization in a spirit of reform and opening up, and to continuously enrich, develop and improve oneself.
The theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics needs to keep pace with the times and carry out theoretical innovation.
Just as the earth absorbs rainwater and accommodates rivers and even the sea, the great rejuvenation of Chinese civilization also requires constant nourishment from Western civilization and other human civilizations.
Only by understanding the true philosophical meaning behind "one country, two systems" can we understand that the successful experience of "one country, two systems" lies in always being tolerant and humbly learning the beneficial elements of Western civilization.
To open up a new chapter in the future of "One Country, Two Systems", the key lies in "not forgetting the original intention", maintaining strategic focus, not underestimating Hong Kong. , to re-examine the unique advantages of Hong Kong in the national strategic landscape.
Hong Kong Palace Museum.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Zhihua
2. Politics and Culture: Hong Kong's New Position in National Strategy
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the central government's strategic positioning of Hong Kong has mainly focused on the economy, making full use of Hong Kong as a channel between the mainland and global capitalism to serve the national strategy, and solving the Hong Kong issue with "one country, two systems" after the reform and opening up is also such a grand strategy a part of.
With the continuous economic integration of China into the global capitalist system since the reform and opening up, we have gradually mastered the ability to manage the global capitalist market economy.
Hong Kong's role as a "window" in the national economic strategy has been declining, while Hong Kong is facing its own economic problems and needs to be integrated into the national development strategy.
In this context, it is not only necessary to adjust Hong Kong's position in the national economic strategy in a timely manner, but also to adjust from the past "come in" strategy to the "go out" strategy, and promote China's capital, technology, management, information and even cultural concepts to go out. , and more importantly, the positioning of Hong Kong in the national strategy from economic positioning to political positioning and cultural positioning.
With further development, China must not only have the ability to control the global capitalist economic system, but also the ability to control the global capitalist political system and cultural ideology, so as to effectively carry out the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.
China adopts a socialist system with Chinese characteristics, while most countries in the world outside China adopt a capitalist political system.
The parliamentary politics of multi-party contested elections, the rule of law with independent judiciary, and free speech in civil society have become the basic logic of the operation of this political system.
To actively participate in global governance and build a community with a shared future for mankind, it is impossible for China to force its own domestic system to the world like the Soviet Union and the United States did in those days.
Therefore, on the premise of ensuring that the socialist system in the mainland remains unchanged, China needs to learn with humility how to control the global liberal and democratic political system and win the right to speak in the global public opinion.
This is undoubtedly a major and urgent task currently facing, just like how to control the global capitalist economic system faced with the difficult problem at the beginning of reform and opening up.
Summarizing China's successful experience in managing the global capitalist economic system since the reform and opening up, the most important one is to make good use of Hong Kong's "one country, two systems" and "learn to swim while swimming".
From this perspective, Hong Kong's competitive electoral system, judicial independence and judicial review rule of law system, and openness to free speech actually provide an excellent training ground for China to fully understand Western civilization and learn how to navigate global capitalist politics .
As a result, the importance of Hong Kong in the national strategic landscape will gradually shift from the economic strategic positioning since the reform and opening up to the political and cultural strategic positioning.
Street in Central, Hong Kong.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Wei
3. "Two Constructions": Integrating Chinese and Western Wisdom of Global Governance
In order to open a new chapter in "one country, two systems" from economic strategy to political and cultural strategy, we must adhere to the strategy of "constructing the two well", integrate Chinese and Western wisdom, and build a socialist mainland as well as a capitalist Hong Kong. it is good.
This means that the capitalism in Hong Kong cannot be governed by the methods of governing socialism in the Mainland, but the Hong Kong problem must be solved by the rules of the game of Hong Kong capitalism.
In this new strategic positioning, the significance of Hong Kong lies in accumulating knowledge, experience and skills for China to manage the global capitalist political system and cultural ideology, and more importantly, cultivating corresponding governance talents.
Therefore, Hong Kong's national strategic positioning cannot stop at an international financial center, but also actively promotes to become an international arbitration center, an international judicial center, an international NGO activity center, an international cultural and creative center, and an international communication center.
Governing capitalism in Hong Kong well with capitalist methods and promoting the active participation of Hong Kong elites in international organizations and global governance affairs has become an important step for China to actively participate in global governance.
As a result, the strategy of "constructing the two well" will gradually build a new world system with a socialist system with Chinese characteristics inside and a capitalist system outside.
This is not only different from the Soviet Union's system of promoting communism around the world, but also different from the current world imperial system in which the United States promotes the end of history with the American model. Instead, it combines China's cosmopolitanism with Western cosmopolitanism and internationalism to promote the world. The creative transformation of the system provides Chinese wisdom or Chinese solutions for global governance.
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About the Author:
Qiang Shigong, professor of Peking University Law School, once engaged in research work in the Hong Kong Liaison Office (2004-2008).
His research areas are jurisprudence, constitutional law, Hong Kong issues and international politics.
He is the author of Legal System and Governance: Law in National Transformation (China University of Political Science and Law Press, 2003), City-State of Legal Persons (Shanghai Sanlian Publishing House, 2003), Jurisprudence of Legislators (Beijing Sanlian Publishing House, 2007) ), Hong Kong, China (Oxford University Press, Hong Kong, 2008, Sanlian Publishing House, Beijing, 2009), Punishment and the Rule of Law: The Rise of the Modern Rule of Law in China (1976-1982) (Law Press, 2010) and The End of Civilization and World Empire: The Global Legal Order Constructed by the United States” (Sanlian Publishing Company, Hong Kong, 2021) and other books and papers.