December 20, 2014, marked the 15th anniversary of Macao's return to China. People from all walks of life in Macao celebrated the anniversary through various activities. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the celebrations.
This strikes a sharp contrast to what happened in Hong Kong caused by the Occupy Central movement not long ago. What led to the difference?
There are two factors: first, the experience of being colonized was different for Hong Kong and Macao; second, the international circumstances facing the two regions also differ after their return to China.
After being colonized by Britain, Hong Kong was forced to accept British culture and social systems, and English was made the major language in the government departments and schools.
After Hong Kong's return to China, the existence of colonial values has led to the lack of identification with the motherland's culture among younger generations. The authority of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the Basic Law of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) were not respected by a minority of people. Meanwhile, some English-speaking countries still want to maintain their influence over Hong Kong. They have interfered with the internal affairs of Hong Kong, and have even wished to indirectly control Hong Kong through the election of the chief executive officer.
While for Macao, because of the native people's resistance, Portugal's desinification efforts were not effective. Macao people's identification with the motherland has not been severely damaged. Also, Macao has not met with such external interference as in Hong Kong in the past 15 years. Therefore, harmony and prosperity has become the mainstream in Macao under the "one country, two systems" principle.
Some attributed the Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong to its poor economic performance. This is debatable. It's true that when Hong Kong was returned to China on July 1, 1997, it was hit by the Asian financial crisis. That year, Hong Kong's economic growth was negative. This is not the major reason, however. With the help of the Central Government, Hong Kong's economy began to improve from the second half of 1998 and in 1999 Hong Kong's economy registered a positive growth. From 2004 to 2013, the average economic growth rate in Hong Kong reached 5 percent, twice the average level of developed economies during this period. Hong Kong's status as the world's financial center proves to be much higher than before its return, which is the same case with its democratization. Before its return, the people of Hong Kong did not have the right to elect their own leader. In 2017, Hong Kong people will be able to elect their chief executive officer through universal suffrage.
The economy in Macao also maintained rapid growth after its return to China. The Constitution and the Basic Law are respected in Macao. The Macao Special Administrative Region's economic and social development has been pushed to a much higher level than before its return to China.
From 2000 to 2013, Macao's economic aggregate jumped from 49.02 billion MOP (Macao pataca) ($6.15 billion) to 413.47 billion MOP ($51.83 billion), while the per-capita output value grew from $14,000 to $87,000 and the unemployment rate dropped from 6.8 percent to 1.7 percent.
It is clear that the "one country, two systems" policy has brought the same result to Hong Kong and Macao--that is, economic development and progress. It's no exaggeration to say that without the support of the Central Government, it would be impossible for Hong Kong to maintain its current prosperity. At least, it would not be so easy for it to walk out of the shadows of 1997 Asian financial crisis and 2008 global financial crisis.
In his remark on December 20, 2014, President Xi said that the Macao people are the masters of Macao, enjoying extensive freedom and rule by the people. Macao's democratic political system, its economy and residents' livelihood keeps making progress, while the overall society remains stable and harmonious, its exchanges with the outside world continues to grow and great achievements have been made in various aspects.
However, while meeting Leung Chun Ying, Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong, on December 19, 2014, President Xi said that political development in Hong Kong must conform to its reality, and abide by the principle of "one country, two systems" as well as the Basic Law of Hong Kong SAR. It is hoped that Hong Kong SAR Government will properly deal with problems cropping up in political development.
Xi stated that the fundamental principle of "one country, two systems" must be followed to safeguard the state's sovereignty, security, development interests, so as to keep lasting prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macao.
The executives in Hong Kong must realize the in-depth conflicts embedded in Hong Kong's society. If this issue remains unsolved for long, the tangible implementation of the "one country, two systems" policy will not be fully executed. Decolonization and the strengthening of the sense of being part of the motherland is an important job that Hong Kong must do, and it must be done well.
