Chinese debate status of Kashmir and Hong Kong after India scraps J-K’s special status

The unrest in Hong Kong which began in June over a law that would have allowed criminals to be extradited from the city to mainland China, has been described by an official “most serious situation since its return to China” from Britain in 1997.

India’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir has sparked discussions in China’s social media whether Beijing should deal with Hong Kong, engulfed in violent anti-mainland protests for several weeks, in a similar way.

Lawyers cross a street during a protest march in Hong Kong on Wednesday.(AP)

China rules Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems” norm under which citizens of the city enjoy several rights not available to mainland citizens; it has a high degree of autonomy except in defence and foreign affairs.

Hong Kong is one of China’s special administrative zones like Macau; in other words, it has “special status”.

After Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, the two countries agreed that it will be fully integrated with mainland China in 2047.

The unrest in Hong Kong began in June over a law that would have allowed criminals to be extradited from the city to mainland China.

That particular law has been put on hold but the protests have continued over demands for democratic reform and apprehension that Beijing was tightening its control over the city’s governance.

A mainland official called the protests “most serious situation since its return to China...”

Over Monday and Tuesday, the Indian Parliament revoked Article 370 of the Constitution ending the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, and passed a bill bifurcating it into two Union Territories — J&K and Ladakh.

Though the political history and context of Kashmir and Hong Kong are vastly different, it hasn’t stopped some Chinese citizens to argue that the city’s special status should be scrapped.

“This is one of the best examples that India provides for China to deal with HK,” wrote a user on China’s Twitter-like Weibo.

“Kashmir ‘unchanged for 70 years’ and Hong Kong ‘unchanged for 50 years’... It can’t last forever,” wrote another user.

Another user wrote: “Modi abolished the constitutional status of Indian-controlled Kashmir as a ‘special administrative region’ to be taken over by state organs. This is worthy of our reference, anyway, so many years of ‘two systems’ proved to be a failure!”

But not everyone agreed.

“Well, it’s hard to compare the two areas for different national conditions, and India’s social problems, religious problems, and cultural conflicts are much more serious than China’s. India is not a good model. Kashmir’s problem is more serious than HK. At least India has not been successful in previous decades. As for this time, it’s too early to draw a conclusion. We have to wait and see,” one Weibo user wrote.

“Inspired by the Hong Kong protests, India’s ‘One Country, Two Systems’ was formally abolished. Mody is still very bold. We know decisively that one country, two systems are unstable. Hong Kong you are a bad reference,” wrote another.