Steering Hong Kong in the right direction

People wearing protective face masks walk along a street during lunch hour in Central district in Hong Kong, China, on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021.

HONG KONG’s status as a British colony ended in 1997, when China regained sovereignty over the territory. Since then, Beijing has exercised its rule over Hong Kong through a special arrangement known as “one country, two systems,” providing autonomy to Hong Kong, which is allowed its own currency and its own administrative and legal systems.

The problem is that Hong Kong itself is a deeply divided society. Local Hong Kong politics is often described as a contest between the blue and yellow forces. On the blue side are the conservative, pro-Establishment forces, a growing number of whom are people disillusioned by the West because of what they see as its growing bias against China and the Chinese.