Forcibly Changing Two Systems into One State Would Distance the Two Sides of the Strait Even Further

Forcibly Changing Two Systems into One State Would Distance the Two Sides of the Strait Even Further

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

May 25, 2020

 Translation of an Excerpt

At the opening of the National People's Congress in Mainland China, Beijing decided to directly legislate the national security law and implementation mechanism for Hong Kong, dropping a bombshell on Hong Kong. In Taiwan, all walks of life are highly concerned, and the Presidential Palace says that "one country, two systems" is inevitably incongruent with freedom and democracy. The impact of the "Hong Kong version of the National Security Law" on the three areas across the Strait deserves attention.

The CCP’s forcible push of the "Hong Kong version of the National Security Law" will inevitably make the cross-Strait question more complicated to resolve. Beijing’s bottom line is clearly drawn, and Taiwan cannot ram or harbor a mentality of counting on good luck; however, there is not a question either that the majority of people in Taiwan are opposed to "one country, two systems". Through the back door planted in the Basic Law, Beijing has extended its hand to rule by controlling Hong Kong highhandedly, not only making Hong Kongers worry about the threat to the protection of freedom and democracy as well as human rights, but also made the public in Taiwan feel even more repulsive toward "one country, two systems." If Hong Kong should become "one country, one system" from "one country, two systems", then the cross-Strait distance would be even wider.

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