Jiang Zemin’s journey from transitional figure to transformational leader a fitting legacy for Hong Kong
- Initially considered a compromise candidate, the late president led Hong Kong and China into a new era
- Now, as our city begins another chapter, we could use more of Jiang’s underdog spirit
Deng brought China out of isolation; Jiang brought the nation fully into the world.
Deng was the father of “one country, two systems”, the policy that ensured the smooth handover of Hong Kong and Macau back to the motherland and is seen as the eventual solution to the Taiwan issue.
At the time, Jiang set just the right tone for one country, two systems in Hong Kong, under the gaze of a largely sceptical world. It was, of course, not without its challenges.
Jiang was instrumental in instilling confidence in one country, two systems by taking what we can now clearly see to have been a hands-off approach when it came to Hong Kong affairs. The metaphor “well water does not mix with river water” Jiang so famously quoted in 1989 turned out to be the guide to what the policy would mean on the ground.
On the eve of the handover, Jiang reinforced his commitment to non-interference in a speech stressing that the central government “will not and should not be allowed to intervene in matters that ought to be handled by the Hong Kong SAR”. It was the tune Jiang stuck to and it encapsulated the careful dynamics and calibration that the one country, two systems policy requires.
For someone who was at first widely regarded as a transitional leader, there to hold the place of power until the heir-apparent (Hu Jintao) was selected, Jiang proved himself to be an outstanding leader with outsized influence. Underestimated from the beginning and considered to be a compromise candidate after unexpectedly coming to power following the Tiananmen protests in 1989, Jiang proved the world wrong.
But perhaps the most important legacy Jiang leaves Hong Kong is his journey from a transitional to transformational leader. Hong Kong, too, is in constant transition and the past few years have cast a shadow over this “shining pearl”. Being an underdog worked in Jiang’s favour; may it similarly be the motor that propels this city forward.
Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA