Editing One country, two systems (section)

==Background==
[[Deng Xiaoping]] developed the principle of one country, two systems in relation to Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.<ref name=":04">{{Cite book |last=Hu |first=Richard |title=Reinventing the Chinese City |date=2023 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-21101-7 |location=New York}}</ref>{{Rp|page=176}} [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]] had been colonized by European powers and [[Taiwan]] remained under [[Kuomintang]] Control at the end of the [[Chinese Civil War]].<ref name=":04" />{{Rp|page=176}}

===In the context of Hong Kong===
{{main|History of Hong Kong}}
Hong Kong was a [[Crown colony|colony]] of the United Kingdom, ruled by a [[Governor of Hong Kong|governor]] appointed by [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|the monarch of the United Kingdom]], for [[British Hong Kong|156 years]] from 1841 (except for four years of [[Japanese occupation of Hong Kong|Japanese occupation]] during [[WWII]]) until 1997, when it was [[Handover of Hong Kong|handed over to the Chinese government]]. 

In discussing Hong Kong's future, Deng described the risk of possible instability which might be caused by what he termed as destructive forces both inside and outside Hong Kong.<ref name=":04" />{{Rp|page=177}} In Deng's view, these destructive forces might create instability both prior to, and as well as after, Hong Kong's return to China.<ref name=":04" />{{Rp|page=177}} Deng repeatedly stressed that the central government would need to intervene in Hong Kong affairs from time-to-time.<ref name=":04" />{{Rp|pages=177–178}} Among other occasions, Deng told Hong Kong delegates to Beijing in 1984 that certain interventions would be necessary, that when turmoil occurs in Hong Kong the central government should intervene, and that it would be necessary to see if interventions would be in the interests of Hong Kongers and Hong Kong's stability and prosperity.<ref name=":04" />{{Rp|page=178}} In 1988, Deng stated that Hong Kong's political system was neither the British nor American systems and Hong Kong should not import Western political systems in the future.<ref name=":04" />{{Rp|page=179}}

As part of Hong Kong's return to China, China agreed to accept some conditions, as stipulated in the [[Sino-British Joint Declaration]], such as the drafting and adoption of Hong Kong's "mini-constitution" [[Hong Kong Basic Law|Basic Law]] before its return. The Hong Kong Basic Law ensured that Hong Kong will retain its [[Capitalism|capitalist]] [[Economy of Hong Kong|economic system]] and own currency (the [[Hong Kong dollar]]), [[Law of Hong Kong|legal system]], [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong|legislative system]], and same human rights and freedoms, as a [[Special administrative regions of China|special administrative region (SAR) of China]] for 50 years. Set to expire in 2047, the current arrangement has permitted Hong Kong to function as its own entity under the name "Hong Kong, China" in many international settings (e.g. the [[World Trade Organization|WTO]] and the Olympics).<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://gohongkong.about.com/od/travelplanner/a/hongkongcountry.htm|title=What Country Is Hong Kong in? China or Not?|first=Rory|last=Boland|work=About.com Travel|access-date=2 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009134239/http://gohongkong.about.com/od/travelplanner/a/hongkongcountry.htm|archive-date=9 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite news |last=Gargan |first=Edward A. |date=July 1, 1997 |title=China Resumes Control of Hong Kong, Concluding 156 Years of British Rule |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/01/world/china-resumes-control-of-hong-kong-concluding-156-years-of-british-rule.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=3 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620182610/http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0630.html |archive-date=20 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{Cite news |title=1898 and all that—a brief history of Hong Kong |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/special/1997/06/26/1898-and-all-that-a-brief-history-of-hong-kong |access-date=2023-06-11 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>

During the drafting of the Basic Law, Deng stated that universal suffrage and Western political systems were not appropriate for Hong Kong.<ref name=":04" />{{Rp|pages=178–179}} Deng also stated that if Hong Kong became a base for anti-mainland China sentiment under the guise of democracy then China's central government should intervene.<ref name=":04" />{{Rp|page=179}}

The Chinese [[renminbi]] is not legal tender in Hong Kong. Likewise, the Hong Kong dollar is not accepted in stores in mainland China. With this arrangement, a permit or special visa ({{zh|links=no|c=簽注}}) is required when passing between the borders of Hong Kong and mainland China, and people in Hong Kong hold [[Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport|Hong Kong SAR passports]] rather than [[Chinese passport]]s. The [[Languages of Hong Kong|official languages]] are a major factor besides the [[History of Hong Kong|history of the former colony]] that has made Hong Kong and mainland China distinct from each other, as [[Cantonese]] and [[Hong Kong English|English]] are the most widely used languages in Hong Kong, while [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] is the official language of mainland China. The [[Government of China|central government in Beijing]] maintains control over Hong Kong's foreign affairs as well as the legal interpretation of the Basic Law. The latter has led democracy advocates and some Hong Kong residents to argue that the territory has yet to achieve [[universal suffrage]] as promised by the Basic Law, leading to [[Umbrella Revolution|mass demonstrations in 2014]].<ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto2"/>

===In the context of Macau===
{{main|History of Macau}}
A [[Portuguese Macau|colony of Portugal]] for 442 years from 1557, [[Macau]] was [[handover of Macau|returned to the Chinese government]] in 1999. In the [[Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau]], the drafting and adoption of Macau's [[Macau Basic Law|mini-constitution]] before its return was foreseen. Like Hong Kong, a basic law would ensure that Macau retained its economic system, currency (the [[Macanese pataca]]), [[Law of Macau|legal system]] (which is based on Portuguese civil law), [[Legislative Council of Macau|legislative system]], and people's rights and freedom for 50 years, as a special administrative region (SAR) of China. Set to expire in 2049, the agreement has permitted Macau to function as its own entity in many international settings (e.g. [[World Trade Organization|WTO]]) rather than as a part of China. 

As Macau has its own currency, the Chinese renminbi is not legal tender in Macau; the pataca is also not accepted in stores in China.<ref>{{cite web |title=人民币是澳门特别行政区的法定货币吗？ |url=https://www.chinanews.com.cn/zhuanti/aomen/lawabc/part6-7.html |website=[[China News Service]] |access-date=6 April 2025}}</ref> With this agreement, a permit or visa is required when crossing between the borders of Macau and China, and people in Macau generally hold [[Macau SAR passport]]s rather than mainland Chinese passports. Like Hong Kong, the [[Languages of Macau|official languages]] are a major factor that has made Macau and China distinct from each other besides the [[History of Macau|history of the former colony]], as Cantonese and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] are the official languages in Macau, while Mandarin is the official language of China. The central government in Beijing also maintains control over Macau's foreign affairs as well as the legal interpretation of the Basic Law.

===In the context of Taiwan===
{{main|Cross-Strait relations}}
In addition to the Hong Kong and Macau contexts, Deng proposed the principle's applicability to [[Chinese unification]],<ref name=":04" />{{Rp|page=176}} but the government of Taiwan has consistently rejected the proposal {{As of|alt=as recently as December 2023|2023|12}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hioe |first=Brian |date=2023-12-22 |title=Lai and Hou Focus on Cross-Strait Relations, Ko on Appeals to Youth in First Presidential Policy Presentation |url=https://newbloommag.net/2023/12/23/2024-first-policy-presentation/ |access-date=2024-01-13 |website=New Bloom Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> According to polls conducted by Taiwan's [[Mainland Affairs Council]] in 2025, over 80 percent of Taiwan reject "one country, two systems".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-25 |title=Huge majority of Taiwanese reject 'one country, two systems': Poll |url=https://focustaiwan.tw/cross-strait/202504250008 |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=[[Focus Taiwan]] |language=en-US}}</ref>