Hong Kong, the Pearl of the Orient, is part of China, and can only shine as part of China, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai wrote in a signed article published on Newsweek Friday.
"A chaotic Hong Kong will do no one any good," the ambassador said.
In fact, since China resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, "One Country, Two Systems" has proven remarkably successful in transforming Hong Kong into an incredible place to live, study and do business, Cui said.
Over the past 22 years, Hong Kong has given support to the mainland's development, while the mainland has contributed to Hong Kong's rise, Cui said, noting that Hong Kong's GDP has maintained a steady growth, hitting almost 360 billion dollars in 2018, over twice of that of 1996.
Cui cited the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as new development opportunities for Hong Kong in the article.
Any talk about the "Two Systems" out of the context of "One Country" would be illegitimate, and to question the necessity of upholding "One Country" with the exercise of "Two Systems" constitutes a challenge to China's sovereignty, Cui stressed.
The ambassador said that the system practiced in Hong Kong, though different from that of the mainland, is something implemented for a certain administrative region of China in a certain historical stage.
"It is still a Chinese system, not a duplicate of that of America or Europe," Cui explained.
Cui also criticized that recent events in Hong Kong have laid bare the ill-will of these forces and the hypocrisy of some Western politicians.
