Hong Kong, the city in China with a blending of Chinese and British culture and Macau blending Chinese and Portuguese culture. These cities are in unique situations compared to the rest of mainland China, because of their history and how there are governed.
Both of these city states used to be colonies of European nations; Hong Kong, a colony of the United Kingdom and Macau, a colony of Portugal. The two cities were handed over to the Chinese government, Hong Kong was handed over in 1997 and Macau in 1999. The cities came into China under the "One Country, Two Systems" policy or all so known as "One China, Two Systems". The "One Country, Two Systems" policy was first suggested by the Chinese government in the 1980's and it called for the reunification of China and that there could only be one China, however regions could keep their capitalist economy and political systems, instead of following China's socialists system. The regions that were to fall under "Two Systems, One Country" were Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Of the three only Hong Kong and Macau accepted the deal, while Taiwan has rejected it. The Taiwanese government claimed that there are 169 incidents where China breached the rights of the people of Hong Kong, and others claimed that the Republic of China (Taiwan's Government) should be the One China, not the People's Republic of China (Government of mainland China). The system allows Hong Kong and Macau to keep their way of life and a high degree of autonomy for up least to 50 years after reunifying, but it never has been publicly stated what will happen to the two after the 50 years.
Hong Kong and Macau are responsible for their domestic affairs and are not required to broadcast and publish things in Mandarin and Simplified Chinese. While the Chinese Government is responsible for national defense and diplomatic relations. Hong Kong continues to follow English Common Law and Macau continues to follow Portuguese Civil Law.
Hong Kong Macau not only have different economic system and laws but different cultures from that of mainland China. Macau was used as trading post and colony under the Portuguese Empire in 1537 and was the last European colony in Asia after its handover in 1999. Because of over four-hundred years of Portuguese influence and control the city and its people have created a blend of Chinese and Portuguese culture, by following traditions and celebrating events of both cultures. A similar thing can be said about Hong Kong, but with British and Chinese culture. In the 1840's Hong Kong was used by the British as a trading post and in 1898 Hong Kong was leased to the United Kingdom for 99 years. Hong Kong is a trade hub and an entertainment hub. Hong Kong is well known for its martial arts movies and actors, most famous one being Bruce Lee, which there is a statue of in the city.
These two cities still get to keep a high amount of control on how they run themselves and their lifestyles, at least until the fifty year deal expires.
More on Hong Kong and Macau
No comments:
Post a Comment