China White Paper reminds Hong Kong who is in charge

BEIJING – China’s Central Government has published a white paper detailing the "one country, two systems" practice in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), stressing Beijing’s control over Hong Kong. The white paper is the first of its kind, and is likely to remind Hong Kong who holds the reins after thousands gathered there to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown

Put forward by former President Deng Xiaoping in the early 1980s, the "one country, two systems" policy provides the Mainland to adhere to the socialist system while Hong Kong and Macau retain their capitalist systems.

The White Paper called for full and accurate understanding of the meaning of the policy, saying that "the high degree of autonomy of the HKSAR is not an inherent power, but one that comes solely from the authorisation by the central leadership”.

“The high degree of autonomy of the HKSAR is not full autonomy, nor a decentralised power", and the central government has the power of oversight, the White Paper says. It also states tha,t with the Mainland’s support, the HKSAR has maintained steady economic growth - and its international exchanges and its international influence have further expanded.