China hopes to take over Taiwan just like Hong Kong, but domino effect unlikely: French scholar
Taiwan News
Date: 2020/07/02
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer\
Taiwan likely next target of Chinese government. (CNA photo)
In an interview with French news magazine Marianne, the French scholar noted that Wednesday was the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China from the U.K. He said Beijing's decision to enact the new legislation on July 1 was symbolic and a way to declare its abandonment of the "one country, two systems" framework it had formerly promised to the special administrative region.
Di Meglio said he believed the security law was the Chinese government's response to the surge of Hong Kong pro-democracy protests in 2019 and retaliation for Hong Kong's withdrawal of the extradition law. He said Beijing has waited for the right moment to respond and decided to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic, when global attention has shifted.
While attributing Hong Kong's downfall to the U.K. for failing to set up a democratic system before the handover, Di Meglio pointed out that Beijing has kept details of the security law secretive until the last moment and used the new law to wipe out all opposition. He added that China would most likely allow Hong Kong to keep its financial and economic autonomy so as not to scare away foreign investors. [FULL STORY]
