Xiao Ping gives Spain's decisive action against the Catalan separatists as a fine example of a government asserting its authority; and like Catalonia, HK will not be independent either

The Spanish government announced its takeover of the regional government of Catalonia as soon as the regional legislature declared independence. The decisiveness and swiftness the Spanish national government exhibited in asserting its sovereign rule over the Catalonia region was so absolute the separatists in Hong Kong should feel a chill up their spines.

Catalonia cannot win independence, but how about Hong Kong? The answer is "no", not today, not ever!

Zhang Zhijun, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said at a press conference during the two sessions of the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee in March: "The end of separatism in Taiwan is unification." The logic and bottom line are so clear it is unnecessary to explain.

Of course Hong Kong's problems are far more complicated than fighting separatism. Since the founding of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 1997 the city has turned from a matter of national unification to national governance. "One country, two systems" is unprecedented in the world as well as in China. That is why the central government and Hong Kong society need to master this bold concept of late leader Deng Xiaoping by trial and error.

Before July 1, 1997 the country had just a socialist system, but two systems afterwards, with Hong Kong exercising a capitalist system. It has been a tough challenge for the central government to maintain national governance according to the "one country, two systems" principle. The 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China described it as a "brand new project"; the 17th National Congress of the CPC called it a "very significant project"; the 18th National Congress listed it as one of the "fundamental principles"; while the just-concluded 19th National Congress included it in the "basic policy". The progression in understanding and appreciation of the "one country, two systems" principle shows the difficulty of implementation. CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping noted in his speech in Hong Kong on July 1 this year that the country "must do well in building up the socialist mainland but also the capitalist Hong Kong". By saying so he set the bar quite high for improving the national governance system and the government's ability to govern under "one country, two systems".

Hong Kong is not an independent political entity and cannot be left outside the country's governance system. The high degree of autonomy Hong Kong enjoys under "one country, two systems" is something Catalonia can only dream of. As long as Hong Kong keeps its "one country" root and takes full advantage of "two systems" there is no limit to its socio-economic development.

Hong Kong being a part of the country's governance system does not mean replacing capitalism with socialism in Hong Kong. It means Hong Kong should go hand in hand smoothly with the socialist system that guides national development. As Xi said in his report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC, Hong Kong should integrate its own development into the overall development of the country. After all, this should be the original intent of "high degree of autonomy" and "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong".

The author is a veteran current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 10/31/2017 page8)