Ni Kuang’s science-fiction prophecy Chasing the Dragon, which was published in 1983, contains the following passage: “A big city, even the one that has an important position in the world economy, can suffer the same fate. You don’t need to destroy the buildings of this big city. You don’t need to kill any resident and even on the surface this big city is exactly the same as before, but as long as the original advantages of this big city disappear, this big city can be destroyed and killed. It can result from the stupid words and actions of a few people. An ignorant decision from a few people can destroy a big city. It can still exist on the map, but it is just an empty shell and lifeless.”
Thirty-six years later, Ni Kuang admitted during a radio interview that his “Oriental Metropolis” referred to Hong Kong. During the creation of the book, the issue of Hong Kong’s future was being negotiated. At that time, many Hong Kong people were full of anxiety about the future of Hong Kong. In the book, the main character, who was wearing sunglasses, was the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Zhao Ziyang, who asked the question: “What are you afraid of?” The response was: “Of course, I am afraid that you will completely destroy a big city.”
Ni Kuang was very skeptical of ‘one country, two systems’
Years later, when Ni Kuang talked about how he could accurately predict the situation in Hong Kong, he was very eloquent and talked about “one country, two systems.” Ni Kuang said: “After Hong Kong was ruled by the CCP [the Chinese Communist Party], the CCP had its principles of domination. Now people are talking about the destruction of one country and two systems. I can’t help but laugh. I said that they were very naive… I don’t believe that one country, two systems exist. The CCP has the final say about Hong Kong. How can one trust the CCP?”
As for the advantages of Hong Kong, Ni Kuang said: “The advantage of Hong Kong is freedom. When freedom disappears, it will lead to the destruction of the city. Freedom of speech is the mother of all freedoms. Now, if the members of the Legislative Council say displeasing words, they will be disqualified from parliament. This is totally against the principle of a free society.”
Ni Kuang went on to say: “I listen to the slogan put forward by the Communist Party and feel very funny. What is the China dream? It is strange to say that people are dreaming all day long.”
When talking about the future of Hong Kong, Ni Kuang said: “How can there be hope in the place where the CCP governs? Without hope, [Hong Kong] is just like any city in mainland China. Therefore, the role of Hong Kong is getting smaller and smaller, and the corrupt officials of the CCP use Hong Kong simply to send money to the Western world.”
Ni Kuang has never concealed his anti-communist position. He believes that: “Chinese bureaucratic capitalism is the most ruthless form of capitalism, and they will not sympathize with the people. The most terrible thing about the Communist Party is its ability to brainwash, to control the will of others, and the people in the Communist system will only become a fully obedient machine.”
Translated by Yi Ming and edited by Helen
See Part 1 — Hong Kong Writer: Being Anti-CCP is True Patriotism
