From the hill in northernmost Hong Kong where Jasper Law stood, the border
with China was obvious -- a narrow river dividing farmlands and fishponds from
the gleaming skyscrapers of megacity Shenzhen.
اضافة اعلان
Friday is the 25th anniversary of
Hong Kong's transition from British to
Chinese rule.
While the view from the hilltops of Lok Ma Chau suggests Hong Kong remains
clearly distinct from mainland China, the territory is fast being subsumed into
Beijing's blueprint for southern China.
And as the border is chipped away, the lack of public consultation has done
little to ease the lingering discomfort some Hong Kongers feel about living on
the mainland's doorstep.
"In the 25 years since the handover, the borderhas become more and more blurry," said Law, a pro-democracy
politician from the border area.
The softening boundary has preoccupied many Hong Kongers.
And it was one of the catalysts for the huge democracy protests in the
finance hub three years ago, a movement initially triggered by an attempt to
allow extraditions to China's mainland.
Beijing's subsequent crackdown has only sped up Hong Kong's absorption.
- Security agents
roam free -
The integration of Hong Kong's population and economy with mainland China
has been under way for decades.
Between 1997 and 2021, more than 1.1 million people migrated from China via
a limited-quota "one-way permit" scheme, almost a seventh of Hong
Kong's current population.
Mandarin was increasingly pushed in schools, sparking resentment among those
who felt the city's distinct Cantonese culture was being eroded.
Hong Kong's borders were also tweaked, most notably in the 2010s with an
expansion of China's high-speed rail into the city.
Part of the terminus in Hong Kong came under Chinese jurisdiction, meaning
the mainland's Communist Party-controlled legal system applied there.
Beijing's imposition of a sweeping national security law to curb dissent
following the 2019 protests has further eroded the legal firewall between Hong
Kong and the mainland.
Under the law, which was imposed by Beijing directly rather than passed
through the legislature, the mainland's security agents can now operate freely
in Hong Kong, immune from the city's laws.
Beijing says it can now also try the most serious national security offences
in mainland China.
And the Covid-19 pandemic has further whittled away at the boundaries.
While the border has been mostly closed under China's strict zero-Covid
rules, mainland medics were granted exemptions to work in Hong Kong's
hospitals.
Construction teams were also sent across the border to build emergency
health facilities, even constructing a new bridge with Shenzhen to ease their
travel.
- 'Power
imbalance' -
Hong Kong's government now plans to transform the border area with a
two-decade plan that will place integration with Shenzhen at the heart of
economic development in the city's northernmost areas, shifting focus away from
Hong Kong's glitzy Victoria Harbour.
Dubbed the "Northern Metropolis", the HK$100 billion ($12.7
billion) project envisages building a new megacity next to Shenzhen -- a new
node in Beijing's "Greater Bay Area" ambitions to create a Chinese
Silicon Valley connecting Hong Kong and multiple cities in neighbouring Guangdong
province.
The government says the new metropolis will create 650,000 new jobs as well
as much-needed new homes in one of the world's least affordable cities.
Veteran urban planner Kenneth To said he thought the government's vision was
far from coherent, and bemoaned the small circle of vested interests that
dominated discussion on development in Hong Kong.
"The power imbalance is worrying," he told AFP.
But Jack Lam, a mobile phone accessories seller who lives in a district near
the border, was more upbeat.
"When the population increases, you can expect more development to
come, there will be more people starting businesses for sure," the
35-year-old said.
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