Opinion | Jiang's pivotal leadership stewarded China into the world
By Augustus K. Yeung
INTRODUCTION
A quarter of a century after the city's handover, Hong Kong residents woke up only to realize how much trouble Jiang Zemin had gone through to preserve the city's system, protect its people's rights, and propagate its economic prosperity.
Jiang was the kind of leader that Hong Kong had taken for granted only now to begin missing his good deeds and mourn his passing and his era of indulgence as Jiang, the benefactor's recipients began to open their mouths.
The passing of Jiang Zemin marks the end of an era for China. He will be remembered as the transformational leader, building on what paramount leader Deng Xiaoping had begun by opening up the market-economy, and leading China's accession to the World Trade Organization.
Deng brought China out of isolation; Jiang quietly shepherded the nation into the world. Deng's visit to Texas conveyed his image as a man America could do business with; Jiang's visit sent the message that China's modern leader loved English, and revered Abraham Lincoln.
"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…" said Alice Wu.
"Jiang oversaw the handovers of both special administrative regions. He was instrumental in implementing 'one country, two systems'. If Deng wrote the prologue to the Hong Kong SAR story, Jiang opened the first chapter. At the time, Jiang set just the right tone for one country, two systems in Hong Kong, under the gaze of a largely skeptical world," said Wu, the city's most objective commentator.
Jiang's passing has brought out the best of this quiet leader who would go out of his way to help "friends of China": A foreign businessman had been approached by Forbs, an American magazine, which was to celebrate its anniversary. The contact person said the magazine had wanted the city's CE to make a keynote speech. The businessman suggested soliciting the nation's leader. But how? Will Jiang be the American devil's advocate, or do Forbes the favor?
Under Jiang, HK Enjoyed "Dancing and Horse Racing…" as Promised
"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 the 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 Hong Kong residents of my generation, Jiang's most memorable moment would perhaps be his rare show of anger, in 2000, he made an unexpected outburst towards a group of local reporters when he met Hong Kong's first chief executive Tung Chee-hwa in Zhongnanhai," Wu recalled.
After Jiang was asked whether he had endorsed Tung for a second term, way ahead of the end of Tung's first, he went off-script and approached the reporters, berating them for their lack of depth, breath and skills, with the famous line, "too simple, sometimes naïve".
Jiang Proved Himself to be an Outstanding Leader…
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 compromised candidate after unexpectedly coming to power following the Tiananmen protests in 1989, Jiang proved the world wrong.
"As we remember Jiang's leadership, we see how far the nation has come since the late 1990s. And we must recognize that Hong Kong has indeed moved on to a new chapter. Times have changed, and the well water, now largely accepted by our nation's leaders to be polluted by foreign interference, is being cleaned up."
"We have repeatedly heard how Hong Kong is under threat from external forces, caught between Beijing and a world that has grown increasingly hostile to it. Indeed, it means that not only reporters, but also Hong Kong residents, can no longer be too simple naïve in the way we see ourselves…"
But perhaps the most important legacy Jiang leaves Hong Kong is his journey from a transitional to a transformational leader. Being an underdog worked in Jiang's favor, said Alice Wu, a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA. (Source: SCMP)
CONCLUSION
Jiang's outstanding contributions to Hong Kong and China may not be pervasive as he was a quiet man. But his passing has brought out community leaders – both local and international – who felt the urge to say a few words that they knew how, a result of personal contacts with the man.
To continue the Forbs narrative, that foreign businessman made his way to Tung, the first CE who caught the first plane available to Shanghai, and personally relayed the message, which Jiang delightfully accepted.
He had wanted to deliver the speech in English, but for his advisor's caution, for reason of sovereignty, the idea went abortive. That's how Hong Kong missed the opportunity of finding a "common" friend in Jiang!
With the mastery of English, the international language that bridges communication gaps, the language that Jiang loved, perhaps China may not be perceived as a "threat" to the Western world today as English is a "passport" to anywhere outside of China.
(That contact person, a foreign businessman based in Hong Kong, dramatically filed an application for Chinese citizenship after Jiang's speech at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.)
The author is a freelance writer; formerly Adjunct Lecturer, taught MBA Philosophy of Management, and International Strategy, and online columnist of 3-D Corner (HKU SPACE), University of Hong Kong.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
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