White paper aims to renew nation's contract with Hong Kong people
Regina Ip says Beijing's white paper is simply a modern incarnation of Chinese rulers' practice of old to engage the people on the issues of legitimacy and rights
China's first ever white paper on the implementation of "one country, two systems", although heavily criticised in legal and pro-democracy circles, aroused little attention in the wider community. Briefings for schools, business and youth groups showed that few had read the document, let alone digested its content.
Why then have the authorities in Beijing taken the trouble to print it and translate it into seven languages? Beijing considered sending two senior officials to Hong Kong to explain and publicise the content. The visit was called off at the last minute, apparently to avoid further turning up the heat.
The publication of the white paper may be described as the modern incarnation of the practice, long cherished by Chinese rulers, of directly engaging the people. As early as 89BC, Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty wrote the Repenting Edict of Luntai to publicly apologise for his policy mistakes and the sufferings inflicted on the people.
In 1729, Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing dynasty took pains to compile a voluminous publication, Awakening from Delusion, to provide the moral justification for the Manchu rule over China. Frustrated by the Han Chinese' rejection of his legitimacy on the grounds of the Manchu's racial and cultural inferiority, Yong- zheng rebutted the attacks on his integrity and the moral basis for the Manchu rule. For this emperor, widely believed to have died in office for working too hard, staying silent was not an option.