One country. Two systems. When Hong Kong made the move from British Colonial to Chinese rule in 1997, Beijing promised the region economic and political freedoms unheard of on the mainland. Hong Kong’s residents had a special dispensation to do what they do best. Make money. When the bubble inevitably burst, expectations and everything else sank.
Ancient Chinese proverb say, When economy goes south, people get political. So when Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa proposed a Beijing – backed “antisubversion” bill, the people of Hong Kong took to the streets. The protests have sparked a leadership crisis in Hong Kong, and put the People’s Republic of China on the defensive.
Guests:
Christine Loh, CEO, Civic Exchange, a Hong Kong-based political and democracy think tank
Minxin Pei, senior associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Joe Fewsmith, director, East Asia Interdisciplinary Studies Program, Boston University
Alexandra Seno, Hong Kong correspondent, Newsweek.