Posted on 07/17/2003 4:06:29 PM PDT by Enemy Of The State
China Reform Monitor No. 503, July 17, 2003
American Foreign Policy Council, Washington, DC
Editor: Al Santoli
BEIJING FEARS SPREAD OF HONG KONG DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT;
ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY: CHINA'S BID FOR REGIONAL DIPLOMACY
July 15:
Recent mass street demonstrations in Hong Kong demanding democratic elections and the temporary withdrawal of a stringent internal security bill have put China's leaders on the defensive, reports the Washington Post. With the rigid Chinese political system straining to contain rising discontent across the nation, communist leaders are worried that activists will use Hong Kong as a base to undermine their monopoly on power. "What they fear is a double effect," said Shi Yinhong, an international relations scholar at People's University in Beijing. "If the central government backs down, Hong Kong will be a base for subversive activities. At the same time, the Chinese public will conclude the Communist Party is not infallible, and that so-called people power can have an impact."
"Hong Kong is a small community of 7 million at the edge of the Chinese empire, but because it behaves differently, it is a catalyst for change," said Christine Loh, a former Hong Kong legislator who runs a group that promotes civil society. "We all know ideas can start small and go a long way, and the Hong Kong idea, while dominant in only a small part of China, represents the dominant idea in the global community." The Hong Kong protests also complicate China's efforts at achieving its chief foreign policy goal, persuading Taiwan to return to Chinese rule.
Agence France-Presse reports an increase in economic crime in Hong Kong, which before being absorbed by the Peoples Republic of China was known as a bastion of competent business activity. Thirty-one percent of businesses in Hong Kong suffered from economic crime in the last two years, according to global accounting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers. In a survey of 85 business heads in Hong Kong, 35 percent said they had suffered from some form of asset misappropriation and 23 percent had been victims of cyber-crime. Sixty-four percent of companies in Hong Kong expect fraud to increase or remain the same in the next five years.
July 17:
The proposed China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement will sweep away barriers to trade and investment between Beijing and the ten Southeast Asian nations, reports the Far Eastern Economic Review. Some economists, however, regard the proposed FTA as a serious economic threat to Southeast Asia and predict that ASEAN-based manufacturers will relocate to the larger China market. In addition, by cementing closer economic ties with neighboring East Asian states, Beijing intends to establish regional influence and leadership at the expense of the U.S. and other major economic powers. In June, at an ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Phnom Penh, Chinese officials proposed a bold and broad-ranging "Strategic Partnership" with ASEAN, covering areas of economic and political cooperation. One senior Asean official described the proposal as "an ambitious document whose sub-text is to keep the Americans and the Japanese at arm's length from ASEAN.
Copyright (c) 2003, American Foreign Policy Council
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HK was a gun control zone for the entire duration of it's time as a UK colony. They are big believers in gun control (do you remember "Braithwaite's" speech to Bruce Lee in "Enter the Dragon?") and for that reason, any real attempt to become independent from the mainland will be doomed to fail. They are already slaves in their hearts. It will be a sad replay of Tiniamen Square.
The horror, the horror!!!
I guess I shouldn't make fun of it; for the power-hungry CCP it really is a horrible thing. Thanks for the ping.
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