Hong Kong's political dissidents have reacted to the State Council's white paper on the "One Country, Two Systems" principle by claiming it is a political attack directed at them. But these ignorant zealots are apparently unaware that the State Council regularly issues white papers on diverse issues - systematically expressing its views to an international audience. They seem to have forgotten that the "One Country, Two Systems" policy was first outlined in the appendix of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984. This year is its 30th anniversary.

How pathetic! These fools are now making a lot of noise in the local and international media. They are misinforming the rest of the world and trying to mislead Hong Kong's citizens. It was high time the central government set the record straight. To this end, the concluding chapter of the paper is aptly titled: "A Comprehensive and Accurate Understanding and Implementation of One Country, Two Systems Policy and Measures". The keywords are "comprehensive" and "accurate" - implying that, at present, many people's understanding of "One Country, Two Systems" is mostly incomprehensive and inaccurate.

To express the main points of the paper in a short article would be difficult. But I recommend anyone who is serious about understanding the implementation of "One Country, Two Systems" in Hong Kong to read it in full.

To most readers, the paper lays out an entirely different view of "One Country, Two Systems" than that depicted by Hong Kong's political dissidents over the past three decades.

One reporter told me: "The central government has changed the entire game! Now there is only 'One Country', no 'Two Systems'."

"No." I told her, "Before you make such remarks, please do some research and go through past documents and official statements. Please remember that on top of 'Two Systems', there is always 'One Country', and Hong Kong is a special administrative region (SAR) of China. You have been fooled by the dissidents if you think otherwise."

This reporter and practically all her colleagues seemed to be unconvinced. I am sure most people in Hong Kong are in a similar state of shock. I don't blame them. They have been under the influence of a massive and protracted exercise in disinformation carried out in Hong Kong, as well as in the Western media. But this is to be expected.

After the inevitable denials, many people will ask: Why did you not tell us the truth earlier? Why now?

As I am not a member of the central government, I am not in any position to give an authoritative answer. However, my best guess would be that it can be traced back to Deng Xiaoping's guideline which advised: "Don't debate, just (carry out) more concrete actions". This guideline has been doggedly followed since the beginning of China's era of reform and liberalization in 1978. This pragmatic approach saved us from much unnecessary ideological debate. It allowed the nation to focus on economic development. The rest is history.

But certain fundamental issues still need to be faced. Avoiding them will only make things worse. With regards to Hong Kong, now is probably the best time to do this.

It is the moment of truth - for the central government as well as for Hong Kong. We all have to face up to this. By publishing the white paper, the central government is announcing to the rest of the world, that it is ready, willing and able to tackle issues relating to "One Country, Two Systems" in Hong Kong. But the problem is, are we in Hong Kong also prepared to do this?

The author is a veteran current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 06/12/2014 page9)