jeanne boden

glory to hong kong 願榮光歸香港

1997: hong kong will be even more beautiful tomorrow

In 1997 Beijing celebrated the return of Hong Kong to the motherland.
This slogan in the streets of Beijing in 1997 says: "Hong Kong will be even more beautiful tomorrow".

The principle of 'one country-two systems' was set up to enable that part of China would be under control of the Chinese Communist Party, and part (Hong Kong) would continue to use the rule of law, political and economic system it had as a British Crown Colony. In the Sino-British agreement about the return of Hong Kong to China, China agreed to allow Hong Kong to keep that system for another 50 years: until 2047.

In 2017 - not 2047 - Xi Jinping announced China no longer wanted to respect the Sino-British agreement it had signed, claiming it had lost historical meaning. No strong international reaction followed Xi's announcement at the time.

This year - 2019 - is a highly significant year for China. It commemorates 1839 (start of Opium War), 1919 (May Fourth Movement), 1949 (establishment of the People's Republic of China), 1989 (June Fourth Tiananmen crackdown). The events over the past months show that 2019 is another '9' to be added to the long list. China may be against democracy, but the demonstrations in Hong Kong today are the result of China not respecting international agreements and 'rule of law'.

Google, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube are accessible and used across the globe - including Kazakhstan, India, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and more, up to the borders of China. In China they are blocked, turning the country into an information island with an intranet rather than an internet. But China does not shy away from using these same systems to spread misinformation across the globe. In recent days Google, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube have all removed fake accounts rooted in China spreading wrong information about Hong Kong.

The demonstrations in Hong Kong have been going on for months now. The method used this time is 'be water'. This proves that the 'one country-two systems' which China also had in mind for Taiwan does not work, simply because China does not allow two systems. Hong Kong today is not about Hong Kong. It is about a global struggle between democracy and dictatorship, between economic cooperation based on  international standards and rule of law (with separation of powers) and China's 'rule by law' under One Party, or rather 'rule of man'. Will China's attitude towards Hong Kong develop into another major human rights issue like arbitrary Uighur detention and more? Or, will it be able to recognize Hong Kong's unique identity to get out of this crisis?

Hong Kong's 'national anthem' Glory to Hong Kong is strong vehicle.

hong kong 2019

Since the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997 the People's Republic of China has tried to gain more control over the city in spite the One Country - Two Systems agreement. In 2003 half a million Hong Kong people marched against Article 23. In 2014 the Umbrella Movement occupied Hong Kong Central for months. In the past weeks two million people were marching against the extradition bill. It is interesting what is happening at the moment. Here is an interesting article mentioning Neera Chandhoke's "politics of voice" and describing the changes of civic space over the past decades.

The recent events in Hong Kong have also affected Taiwan. Hong Kong Chinese are fleeing to Taiwan. The Taiwanese have become more aware that they might be the next Hong Kong.

The whole world is reporting on what is happening in Hong Kong. On the Chinese "Google" Baidu first not a single word is mentioned about the demonstrations showing to what extent the Chinese Internet is a national Intranet. Now Chinese censors are creating an alternative reality about what is happening in Hong Kong. The Chinese propaganda system with its one truth and censorship is like any extreme monotheist religion.

Today, on the 1st of July 2019, China celebrates the 22th year of the return of Hong Kong. While protesters in Hong Kong have entered into the legislative council in Hong Kong and shocking media images are sent across the world, China's CCTV shows images of the celebration of the handover that must prove how happy Hong Kong people are.

Gu Hongzhong 顧閎中 (937-975) “Night Banquet of Han Xizai" (907–979)

Chan Jung-hui 詹榮輝 "Tradition, anticipation, nonperception" (2019) National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
From left to right:Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, Tsai Ing-wen, Shinzo Abe drinking red wine.

 

huawei - voting - values

China's internal and external communication is full of contradictions with messages ranging from mutual benefit to anti-western discourse. Domestically, China blocks all references to democracy while simultaneously promoting 'democracy' as one of its so-called Socialist core-values. China is many things, but I think we can agree on the fact that it is not a democracy.

Huawei, global image of Chinese innovation, uses 'voting' and 'values' to convince its customers. Isn't voting a principle of democracy? Would Huawei use this advertisement in China?

This is of course about localization of advertising, but the fact that Huwei uses references to democracy at the moment the world is remembering the 30th anniversary of June Fourth 1989 and people in Hong Kong are fighting for their rights is historically ironic.

dutch version is on its way!