Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee: Is the concept of ‘one country, two systems’ dead?
The Interview
BBC
4.3 • 537 Ratings
🗓️ 24 March 2021
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It seems the Biden Administration is putting greater emphasis on human rights issues in its already fraught relationship with China. Will that prompt Beijing to think twice about the crackdown on pro-democracy activism in Hong Kong? Stephen Sackur interviews Regina Ip, Chair of the New People’s Party, member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and one of Beijing’s most loyal backers in the territory. Is the concept of ‘one country, two systems’ dead?
(Photo: Regina Ip appears via video link on Hardtalk)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Hard Talk on the BBC World Service with me, Stephen Sacker. My guest today has earned herself a |
| 0:06.2 | reputation as a tough, unyielding presence in Hong Kong politics. Indeed, the Territory's media have dubbed |
| 0:13.4 | Regina Ip the Iron Lady. She's served three terms in the Legislative Council. She's a former |
| 0:19.7 | security minister in the Hong Kong Executive, and she's chair of the Legislative Council. She's a former security minister in the Hong Kong |
| 0:21.5 | Executive, and she's chair of the New People's Party. In all of these roles, she's always been |
| 0:27.9 | a staunch, loyal backer of Beijing. Since the 1997 handover from British colonial rule, |
| 0:36.1 | Hong Kong has enjoyed a special autonomous status under |
| 0:39.7 | Chinese sovereignty. But in the last couple of years, the Chinese Communist Party leadership |
| 0:44.5 | has acted decisively to tighten Beijing's grip. A new draconian national security law was imposed |
| 0:52.5 | from Beijing last year. Just weeks ago, the National People's |
| 0:56.9 | Congress in Beijing declared that only true patriots would be allowed to hold significant public |
| 1:03.3 | office in Hong Kong. In Western capitals, these moves have been viewed with alarm. But Beijing's |
| 1:10.0 | determination to snuff out dissent appears |
| 1:13.2 | unwavering. Are we witnessing the death of one country, two systems? Well, Regina Ip joins me now |
| 1:21.1 | on the line from Hong Kong. Welcome to Hard Talk. Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to have you. You are a member of the Legislative Council, a Hong Kong |
| 1:32.0 | lawmaker. In recent months, it seems to many outsiders that the Chinese Communist Party |
| 1:38.1 | has rendered the Legislative Council nothing more than a rubber stamp. How do you feel about that? |
| 1:47.2 | That is totally untrue. Our 15 colleagues from the so-called pan-democratic camp, |
| 1:53.7 | they abandoned their duties. They resigned in November, you know, leaving 43 of us to do the work |
| 2:00.7 | of 70 people. It is their choice, you know, leaving 43 of us to do the work of 70 people. |
| 2:02.2 | It is their choice, you know, their call to leave the Legislative Council. |
| 2:06.6 | There is no such thing as a crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong. |
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