I chose to reprint the Basic Law because it is the foundation of Hong Kong's rule of law. With the deviation from "One Country, Two Systems," more and more people are asking what former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping said. Deng Xiaoping had repeated many times that there would be "50 years of no change." When he met with the Basic Law Drafting Committee in 1987, he emphasized that the central government could intervene in Hong Kong and did not agree with the separation of powers.
Deng Xiaoping's remarks on Hong Kong can mainly be found in the 1987 "Building Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" (revised edition) published by the Three Joint Bookstore or the 2004 "Deng Xiaoping on One Country, Two Systems." The most comprehensive information can be found in the 1993 People's Publishing House "Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping" (Volume 3), which includes 119 speeches from 1982 to 1992, including his first appearance after the June Fourth Massacre, and subsequent speeches on reform and opening up. Many websites have PDF files that can be searched for content related to "Hong Kong" or "Macau." This article uses "50 years of no change" as an example to demonstrate literature review.
Lee Cheuk-yan, the founding chairman of the Democratic Party and a former member of the Basic Law Drafting Committee, has recalled many times that when Deng Xiaoping met with the Hong Kong delegation to the Drafting Committee in 1987, he said that if 50 years were not enough, he could give another 50 years, which left a deep impression on him. According to "Selected Works of Deng," Deng Xiaoping had similar remarks as early as October 1984 when he met with the Hong Kong and Macao representatives of the National Day Celebration Observation Delegation and on December 19th when he met with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. At that time, many people were worried that the Cultural Revolution would return, and Deng emphasized that maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity was in China's interest. Therefore, after 50 years, when the mainland develops and opens up even more, policies will not change.
On October 3rd, 1984, Deng Xiaoping gave a speech when he met with the Hong Kong and Macao compatriots who were observing the National Day celebration: "What has been stipulated in the Joint Declaration will definitely not change. Even in the past turbulent years, our central government and the Communist Party have kept their word when speaking internationally. Speaking with integrity is the tradition of our nation, not something that we, this generation, just came up with...When we said in the agreement that there would be fifty years of no change, there will be fifty years of no change. This generation of ours will not change it, and neither will the next. After fifty years, when the mainland develops, will they still deal with these issues in a petty way?...If there is anything to change, it will definitely be for the better and more conducive to Hong Kong's prosperity and development...Hong Kong people will welcome it, and Hong Kong people themselves will demand it. This is certain..."
On December 19, 1984, Deng Xiaoping met with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and said that China would keep its promises after signing the Sino-British Joint Declaration. He also explained why the agreement included a "fifty-year" period during which Hong Kong's capitalist system would remain unchanged after 1997. Deng emphasized that it would take China thirty to fifty years to become truly developed, and that maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity and stability was in China's best interests. He further stated that if China's opening-up policy remained unchanged for the first fifty years after 1997, it would become even more intertwined with the international community, and the policy would not change in the second fifty years.
In 1987, Deng met with Hong Kong's Basic Law Drafting Committee and emphasized that the "one country, two systems" policy would remain in place for fifty years after its implementation. He stated that there was no need to change Hong Kong's status or policies after fifty years, and China's policy of opening up would also remain unchanged. Deng stated that if the policy worked as expected and achieved its goals by the next fifty years, there would be no reason to change it. Deng also stressed that "one country, two systems" needed to balance two aspects: allowing some special areas in socialist countries to practice capitalism for decades or even hundreds of years and ensuring that the entire country remains socialist. Deng also stated that Hong Kong's system should not be entirely westernized and that China's concept of socialist democracy was different from that of capitalist democracy.
In conclusion, Deng Xiaoping emphasized that China would keep its promises, and the policies regarding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan would remain unchanged for fifty years after their implementation. Deng also emphasized the importance of balancing capitalism and socialism in the "one country, two systems" policy and that Hong Kong's system should not be entirely westernized.
Source: 《鄧小平文選》(第三卷)頁72–76，101–103，215–222，266–267。http://bit.ly/2Ee759t
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