The Perpetual Dance: Interpreting 'One Country, Two Systems' Through the Lens of Tongbian Dialectics

Abstract

Characterizing the “One Country, Two Systems” (OCTS) constitutional balance has long been a polarizing exercise. An excellent primer of Hong Kong-based scholarly opinion is presented in Fu Hualing et al.'s Interpreting Hong Kong's Basic Law: The Struggle for Coherence. This article engages with the submission by Robert Morris, entitled “Forcing the Dance: Interpreting the Hong Kong Basic Law Dialectically.” Morris astutely cites Deng Xiaoping’s original application of Marxist dialectical materialism as one method for interpreting OCTS. He seems to apply a distinctly European paradigm, however, ultimately leading him to conclude that Beijing’s goal is “‘to assimilate Hong Kong into the mainland politically, legally, culturally and ideologically,’ using force if necessary, at whatever place may exist there in 2047.” An application of the indigenous strand of Chinese tongbian (通变) dialectics as elucidated by Tian Chenshan seems more proper. Tian asserts that tongbian characterized the Chinese reception of Marxist dialectics by Liang Qichao, Qu Qiubao, and Ai Siqi before coming to fruition in Mao Zedong Thought. As tongbian dialectics reject the Western triad form and emphasize perpetual “continuity through change,” its application to OCTS suggests that Beijing has great theoretical incentive to maximize local autonomy now and into the future.