A renowned British academic said Beijing has overwhelmingly honored its commitment to the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" since the Hong Kong handover in 1997 and that most protesters in the former British colony are driven by a sense of dislocation.

Martin Jacques made the comments in an article headlined "China is HK's future - not its enemy" that appeared in British newspaper The Guardian on Tuesday.

Jacques is best known for his best-selling book When China Rules the World: the End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order. He is also a columnist for The Guardian and New Statesman.