Whatever happened to 'one country, two systems'?

BEIJING is worried that the front runner in the Hong Kong chief executive elections, former chief secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, may face difficulties in governing if she ends up with more votes but significantly lower popularity than former financial secretary John Tsang.

This appears to be the rationale for Beijing's open interference in the Hong Kong election, even though Ms Lam herself has warned that such favouritism by Beijing may be counterproductive, making her vulnerable to the charge of being "Beijing's candidate". Wang Guangya, head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, has called it "reasonable and indisputable" for the central government to "be concerned" about the election. Yet being concerned is one thing, open interference is another.

Mr Wang has laid down four criteria for the next Chief Executive: Someone who loves China and Hong Kong; who has Beijing's trust; who has the ability to govern, and who has the support of Hong Kong people. But Chinese actions seem to make it clear that "support of Hong Kong people" isn't as important as "Beijing's trust". In fact, the more Beijing tries to twist arms in Hong Kong to line up support for Ms Lam, the more likely it will generate resentment to her candidacy.