China’s self-interest remains our best hope of defending Hong Kong’s freedoms

Editorial: Xi Jinping’s enthusiasm for international trade remains the best hope of persuading him to abide by international law

Police walk past a burning barricade set up by protesters during a rally against the law in Hong Kong on Wednesday (AFP/Getty)

The last hope of British policy in Hong Kong was that the self-interest of China’s rulers would protect the freedoms and autonomy of the people there. That calculation held when the Chinese signed the 1984 joint declaration, a treaty guaranteeing the rights of the people of Hong Kong; it continued to hold when the territory was handed over to China in 1997; and it has survived several tests since then.

Now, however, it seems that the interest Xi Jinping, as leader of the Communist Party of China, has in Hong Kong’s prosperity is no longer enough to guarantee its freedoms. Partly, this is because mainland China has become so much richer – many of China’s cities are golden egg-laying geese equivalent to the former British colony. And partly, it is as a result of China’s growing economic power; its political strength around the world is such that it no longer feels the need to defer so much to the international legal order, largely European and American in origin.

At the same time, Xi represents a shift in Chinese political culture from the consensual pragmatism of Deng Xiaoping and his successors, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, back towards the more personal dictatorial style of Mao. This has involved a more repressive policy towards the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, a more aggressive stance towards Taiwan, a more forceful trade policy – and now the new security law in Hong Kong.