China’s “one country, two systems” model elaborated in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration and the 1990 Hong Kong Basic Law promise Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy, universal suffrage, human rights and the rule of law. The June 2014 Chinese White Paper on the “one country, two systems” model and the August 2014 NPC Standing Committee decision on democratic development undermined both the rule of law and Hong Kong’s democratic development. This essay argues Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” model is broken. A high degree of autonomy and the rule of law can no longer be maintained without democracy.
About the Author
Michael C. Davis was professor of law at the University of Hong Kong until 2016. He is currently a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Senior Research Associate at the Weatherhead East Asia Institute of Columbia University, and professor of law and international affairs at Jindal Global University. He is the author of Making Hong Kong China: The Rollback of Human Rights and the Rule of Law (2020).
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