Reassure HK, remind Britain SAR no longer a British 'colony'

The ongoing distress of Britain over the loss of Hong Kong as a "colony" can be attributed to some British politicians not sufficiently examining their own history and trying to incite Hong Kong residents against Beijing. So much is borne out of the evidence.

The British never underwent what the Germans call vergangenheitsbewaltigung - coming to terms with the past. Some in Britain are still proud that Britain was a colonial power. Call it nostalgia for Empire. No wonder some British politicians feel "responsible" for Hong Kong even after it returned to China in 1997. They think China, not Britain, is the invisible hand here.

In 1997, China agreed to grant the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region autonomy for 50 years under the "one country, two systems" framework. But some Hong Kong residents attach too much importance to the "two systems" while ignoring that it is part of the "one China" framework.