The White Paper on the Practice of the “One Country, Two Systems” Policy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, issued in June 2014 by the Information Office of the State Council, states that the central government holds the power to exercise overall jurisdiction in the HKSAR. This statement of a plain fact irritated some people in the city who interpreted “overall jurisdiction” as “controlling everything”, “one country, one system” and even “unauthorized addition” to the Basic Law of the HKSAR. Such accusations are absurd at best and indicative of their ignorance regarding the relationship between the central government and the HKSAR.

“Overall jurisdiction” is not difficult to comprehend. It represents the inherent authority of the sovereign state and is not in conflict with the high degree of autonomy of the HKSAR. Nor does it mean the central government controls everything in Hong Kong.

Sovereignty is demonstrated through overall jurisdiction. It would be pointless to resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong without the power to exercise overall jurisdiction over the HKSAR

Why is the power of “overall jurisdiction” the “inherent authority” of the central government? Historically speaking, no Chinese government after the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) abandoned sovereignty over Hong Kong, although the state was unable to exercise jurisdiction because the city was occupied by the British empire. With the resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, the Chinese government naturally regained the governing power of the HKSAR. President Xi Jinping made it clear, “Hong Kong has been back in the national governance system since China resumed the exercise of sovereignty over the city.” Sovereignty is demonstrated through overall jurisdiction. It would be pointless to resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong without the power to exercise overall jurisdiction over the HKSAR.

Why is “overall jurisdiction” not in conflict with a “high degree of autonomy”? Granting Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy is a unique way to exercise overall jurisdiction: The central government has authorized the HKSAR to run the city with a high degree of autonomy, and refrains from directly managing affairs that fall within the scope of the HKSAR’s autonomy. According to the white paper, overall jurisdiction covers affairs only the central government has the power to run and those the HKSAR runs under a high degree of autonomy; and the central government has the power to supervise Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy. This demonstrates the organic bond between the central government’s overall jurisdiction over the HKSAR and the latter’s high degree of autonomy within the “one country, two systems” framework.

Sovereignty is the ultimate decision-making power, the highest authority of the state to handle domestic and foreign affairs independently and on its own accord. As a unitary state, China’s sovereignty is exclusively maintained by the State rather than being shared with regional authorities. Overall jurisdiction cannot be separated from sovereignty, because sovereignty is the basis of overall jurisdiction and makes the latter legitimate; meanwhile exercising overall jurisdiction is how sovereignty manifests itself, meaning sovereignty without overall jurisdiction is just an empty idea. The central government exercises sovereign power and determines the way it runs Hong Kong, including a political framework that ensures its sovereign power and overall jurisdiction, which is the main reason why the SAR’s institutions are led by the executive branch.  

When China and the United Kingdom discussed issues concerning the future of Hong Kong, the British side attempted to continue usurping the exercise of sovereignty over the city by trying to confirm the effectiveness of the unequal treaties. After Deng Xiaoping rejected such proposals, the UK government offered China a “deal” that would give the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong back to China while Britain keeps the right to exercise overall jurisdiction over the city. It was of course categorically rejected by the Chinese side, as Deng insisted “the people of Hong Kong can take good care of their city on their own.”

Some people assume “one country, two systems” means the central government holds sovereignty over Hong Kong while overall jurisdiction belongs to the latter. Their logic is the same as that of “sovereignty in exchange for overall jurisdiction” proposed by Britain, and would have severed sovereignty and overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong. The establishment of special administrative regions and implementation of “one country, two systems” do not affect China’s unitary state model. Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy is not inherent. Without the power to exercise overall jurisdiction, the sovereign State could not have authorized a high degree of autonomy for the HKSAR.  

The appointment of the chief executive of the HKSAR is the central government directly exercising overall jurisdiction. Meanwhile, the requirement for the HKSAR to send a copy of every law it adopts to the central government for record, the power of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee to invalidate a Hong Kong law by sending it back, and the NPCSC’s exclusive power to issue ultimate interpretations of the Basic Law, demonstrate how the central authorities supervise Hong Kong’s legislative and judicial affairs. The central government exercises its power to maintain overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong and supervises how the HKSAR uses its rights and powers under a high degree of autonomy. That demonstrates clearly the relationship between sovereign power and authorized powers according to the Basic Law. The central government will never abandon its responsibility nor overreach it.

The author is a veteran current affairs commentator.