One Country, Two Systems

This talk is contained in Vol. 3 of the Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping. On June 22 and 23, 1984, Deng Xiaoping met with the delegation of Hong Kong business circles to Beijing and Hong Kong celebrities Zhong Shiyuan and others on the key points of the talk are on the realization of peaceful reunification of the countries. Deng Xiaoping first pointed out the "One Country, Two Systems" in January 1982. When he met with President Lee Yaozi of the Chinese Association of America, he pointed out that nine principles (referred to the nine principles of peaceful reunification of the motherland put forward by Ye Jianying, then Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress) which were "actually two systems of one country". During this talk, Deng Xiaoping clarified the position, principles and policies of the Party and the state on the Hong Kong issue; expounded the connotation of the concept of One Country, Two Systems; stressed that the solution to the Hong Kong and Taiwan problems lies in the implementation of "One Country, Two Systems"; and clarified the boundary and criteria for Hong Kong people to govern Hong Kong and Hong Kong people to govern Hong Kong well. It was pointed out that China resumes the exercise of its sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, Hong Kong’s current social and economic systems will remain unchanged, its legal system will remain basically unchanged, its way of life and its status as a free port and an international trade and financial center will remain unchanged and it can continue to maintain or establish economic relations with other countries and regions.

Apart from stationing troops there, Beijing will not assign officials to the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. This policy too will remain unchanged. We shall station troops there to safeguard our national security, not to interfere in Hong Kong’s internal affairs. Our policies with regard to Hong Kong will remain unchanged for 50 years, and we mean this. We are pursuing a policy of “One Country, Two Systems”. More specifically, this means that within the People’s Republic of China, the mainland with its one billion people will maintain the socialist system, while Hong Kong and Taiwan continue under the capitalist system. Our policy towards Hong Kong will remain the same for a long time to come, but this will not affect socialism on the mainland. The main part of China must continue under socialism, but a capitalist system will be allowed to exist in certain areas, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan. The concept of “One Country, Two Systems” has been formulated according to China’s realities, and it has attracted international attention. China has not only the Hong Kong problem to tackle but also the Taiwan problem. We should have faith in the Chinese of Hong Kong, who are quite capable of administering their own affairs. The notion that Chinese cannot manage Hong Kong affairs satisfactorily is a leftover from the old colonial mentality. On the issue of Hong Kong people's governance, Deng Xiaoping advocated that Hong Kong people can manage Hong Kong well. The prosperity of Hong Kong has been achieved mainly by Hong Kong residents, most of whom are Chinese. Chinese are no less intelligent than foreigners and are by no means less talented. It is not true that only foreigners can be good administrators. We Chinese are just as capable. The view that the people of Hong Kong lack self-confidence is not really shared by the people of Hong Kong themselves.

A patriot is one who respects the Chinese nation, sincerely supports the motherland’s resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong and wishes not to impair Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability. Those who meet these requirements are patriots, whether they believe in capitalism or feudalism or even slavery. We don’t demand that they be in favor of China’s socialist system; we only ask them to love the motherland and Hong Kong. First, major fluctuations or setbacks must be avoided, and the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong must be maintained. Second, conditions must be created for a smooth take-over of the government by Hong Kong residents. I hope that people of all walks of life in Hong Kong will work towards this end.