One country, one system (Chinese:一国一制;pinyin:yīguó yīzhì) means that thePeople's Republic of China governsHong Kong,Macau, andTaiwan in the same political and judicial system as themainland, unlikeone country, two systems; meaning the abolition of theSpecial Administrative Region and direct rule by theCentral People's Government after the unification of Hong Kong, Macau or the futureunification with Taiwan. In addition, some outside radicalpro-Beijing figures have expressed their support[1] to the implementation of one country, one system in Hong Kong.
According to thePublic Opinion Programme of the University of Hong Kong (HKUPOP),Hong Kong people's identification with the Chinese people had a slow upward trend after the handover of Hong Kong in 1997 and up to 2006, which can be attributed to the completion of the handover of Hong Kong's sovereignty in a conflict-free manner, which symbolizes the successful implementation of "one country, two systems", the success of China's bid for hosting the2008 Summer Olympics, the economic downturn at the early stage of Hong Kong's handover, and the booming economic development of mainland China.[2][3]
Following the2008 Summer Olympics, political and cultural identification with mainland China among Hong Kong residents began to decline,[4] influenced by incidents such as the2008 Chinese milk scandal, misuse ofSichuan earthquake relief funds, theGuo Meimei Red Cross controversy,Guangzhou Television Cantonese controversy, and the suppression of dissidents including Nobel laureateLiu Xiaobo. Tensions increased afterXi Jinping becameGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012, particularly over demands for universal suffrage in the election of Hong Kong's Chief Executive, which culminated inUmbrella Revolution in 2014.[5][6][7] In the years that followed,localist and pro-independence groups gained visibility, and public debate over the effectiveness of the "one country, two systems" framework intensified. While many in Hong Kong expressed dissatisfaction with its implementation, the central government continued to describe the arrangement as successful.[8]
In 2016, pro-Beijing writer Chris Wat (屈穎妍) submitted a letter toZhang Dejiang, then chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, urging the adoption of "one country, one system". Later that year, during a visit to Hong Kong, Zhang stated at a public dinner on 18 May that "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law must be respected. He emphasized that the principle should not be questioned or denied, but did not address proposals for "one country, one system."[9][10]
In 2017, Lam Fung (林峰), Associate Dean of theCity University of Hong Kong School of Law, wrote that the adoption of "one country, one system" in 2047 was legally possible, but he considered the continuation of "one country, two systems" a more reasonable option for the Central Government.[11] In the same year, Wang Zhenmin (王振民), Dean of theTsinghua University Law School, argued in a book that viewing Hong Kong's future as either "one country, one system" or independence was a misunderstanding.[12] Also in May 2017,Tam Yiu-chung, then deputy director of the Committee on Social Affairs and the Rule of Law of theNational Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, stated in an interview with Wu Xiaoli that if Hong Kong faced political and economic failure after the end of "one country, two systems", independence would not be possible. He suggested that the territory's only remaining path would be integration under "one country, one system", though this was not what most residents preferred.[13]
Controversy over China's implementation ofde facto one country, one system has been repeatedly raised by critics outside of China sinceXi Jinping became the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and the supreme leader in 2012; on June 30, 2020, the Standing the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) passed the2020 Hong Kong national security law. The NPC's legislative action aroused doubts in the West, including the United States government, that Hong Kong's "original one country, two systems had become [de facto] one country, one system".[14][15]
他们竭力宣扬"失败论"，完全是别有用心；我们的一些同志对此种论调"信以为真"，则多因为对这个政策缺少理解，又没有跟踪分析和看清"失败论"的本质，为一些假象蒙蔽。
吴小莉：王振民部长还说了一段话，他说在香港"一国两制"的实施，只许成功，不许失败，因为一旦失败，香港损失的将会是全部，您怎么理解这段话？
谭耀宗：如果失败以后呢，其实出路无非是几个了，一个保持，我们现在这个情况了，保持"一国两制了"，一个是回到"一国一制"方面了，那么等于是香港是成为国家其中一个城市了，你要搞"港独"吗？不可能。所以只有"一国一制"，不是香港人希望现在来走到这一步，然后"一国两制"，大家觉得是最合适香港的。
