One country, two systems: an unfinished experiment?

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Speaker

Professor Johannes M M Chan (Professor of Law and former Dean, 2002-2014, of the Faculty of Law of The University of Hong Kong

About the talk

In 1984, the Sino-British Joint Declaration, under which Hong Kong was to return to Chinese sovereignty on 1 July 1997 under the One Country, Two Systems model, was signed. 

Under this model, Hong Kong is to enjoy a high degree of autonomy, and is to be vested with executive, legislative and independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication. 

There are guarantees for fundamental rights as well as provisions for the gradual development to a democratic government. 

Thirty years later, in June 2014, the Chinese Government published a White Paper on One Country, Two Systems, which stated that judges were expected to be patriotic and co-operative with the other two branches of Government.  

In September 2014, the Umbrella Movement broke out.  Demonstrators occupied the main thoroughfares of Hong Kong for a period of 79 days in protest against a contrive proposal for the nomination of the Chief Executive in 2017.  

The occupation ended in November when the court granted an injunction.  In December 2014, a Chinese official commented that the Joint Declaration was spent and democratic development in Hong Kong was a matter of internal affairs of China. 

It also appears that China has adjusted her approach to Hong Kong.  In 2015, interference with academic freedom was high on the public agenda, and the year of 2016 was greeted by a mysterious disappearance of a bookseller from Hong Kong who was subsequently confirmed to be in custody in Mainland China.  

What has gone wrong with this One Country, Two Systems model?  How far has it been successfully implemented?   What are the challenges?  And what is the future for the rule of law and democratic development in Hong Kong?  These are some of the issues to be explored in this lecture.

Read a copy of Professor Chan’s background paper

About the speaker

Professor Johannes M M Chan (陳文敏) is Professor of Law and former Dean (2002-2014) of the Faculty of Law of The University of Hong Kong. He specializes in human rights, constitutional and administrative law, and has published widely in these fields.

He has served on many government/public and professional bodies, and has worked with many regional and international non-governmental organizations on human rights matters.

As a barrister, he has appeared in many leading human rights/constitutional law cases. In 2003, he was appointed an Honorary Senior Counsel in Hong Kong, being the first and so far the only academic silk appointed in Hong Kong.

He was also a BOK Visiting Professor to University of Pennsylvania Law School, Herbert Smith Freehills Visiting Professor to the University of Cambridge, and a visiting Fellow of Gonville & Caius College, University of Cambridge.