TOPIC AREA SPECPOL: Future China : 1 Country, 2 Systems
British occupation of Hong Kong was justified through three treaties that the Qin Dynasty signed in the end of the 19th Century after the Opium War ceased. Treaty of Nanjing (1842) and the Convention of Beijing (1860) were signed to handover Hong Kong Island, and Kowloon peninsula south of Boundary Street. In 1898, the Qin Dynasty was compelled to sign the Convention of Extension of Hong Kong which enlarged the control of Hong Kong by the British Occupation.
The question regarding the sovereignty of Hong Kong was raised throughout the 1960s since the mainland China has been under a new socialist government. The new government in mainland china questioned the legitimacy of the British occupation over Hong Kong since the Chinese Government never acknowledged the “unequal” treaties that were made with the British Government. Moreover the treaty of 1898 was made to expire in 99 years, 1997. In November 1972, the United Nations adopted its 27th resolution which endorsed China’s position on Hong Kong’s faith to be given back in 1997. Since then, the United Kingdom has been negotiating with the People’s Republic of China. The climax was when the Sino-British treaty signed by both the UK and PRC in 1985. The treaty ensured that PRC shall take over the British occupation over Hong Kong areas and implement the principle of “One Country, Two Systems”. The principle states that the PRC shall leave the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to implement its capitalist system and ways of life. This treaty has set to be terminated by 50 years. In addition to the treaty, the basic law was also formulated to be the Hong Kong’s constitution.
In this topic the delegates of the council needs to understand the current tension over Hong Kong. Since the handover 1997, many controversial action by the mainland government needed to be forcefully swallowed by the people of Hong Kong since the Basic Law of Hong Kong limited the rights of Hong Kong people’s decisions against the National People’s Congress of PRC. The termination of the Sino-British treaty could be a threat of the capitalistic and ways of life for many citizens in Hong Kong since the PRC could revoke its current behavior against Hong Kong and changed dramatically the situation there, which something that is not agreed by the British Government in the first place. The debate will be a feisty one for the delegates needs to define whether the post 2047, Hong Kong was also something that the UK government has a say in it, and not just the PRC.
Chair - Muhammad Arifian Adin
Muhammad Arifian Adin currently a senior in Institut Teknologi Bandung majoring in Industrial Engineering. Having been interested in MUN since high school, he has earned a few Best Delegate awards in various MUN competitions such as in ALSA UI MUN 2011, High Scope MUN 2011 and 2012, and Bakrie University MUN 2011. He further extends his experience in MUN for varsity level and gain more recognition by being the representative of ITB MUN Club in New York MUN 2014 and Asia Pacific MUN 2015, and managed to receive the Honorable Mention award in NTU MUN 2014. Also, he has taken part in directing some committee as he was chosen to be the Director of WHO AMSA MUN 2015 and UNHCR ALSA MUN 2016. Besides MUN, he has also joined several debating competitions and snatched some notable achievements such as being the Champion of United Asians Debating Championship (UADC) 2014 on English as Foreign Language (EFL) category, and Breaking Adjudicator of the same competition in the following year. As for a hobby, he enjoys singing as he loves to go karaoke or performs on student union’s graduation parties and other events. He’s looking forward to meet all the delegates in SPECPOL and hopes it could be an enriching experience for everyone.
Email : arifian.adin@hotmail.com
Chair - Jeanne Sanjaya
Jeanne Sanjaya is an International Relations student in Parahyangan Catholic University who falls hard for cute mundane stuff. Her friends stamp her as workaholic, perfectionist, impulsive, and discipline. Make one mistake and she’ll give you a dead look. But, give her anything purple, squishy, fluffy, or adorable, and she’ll beam.
This would be her first time chairing a Model UN, however her credential is absolutely guaranteed. Taking interest in diplomacy and United Nations, Jeanne started her MUN career in 2011 and has snatch eight notable awards since. She participated in Harvard World Model UN in 2015 (South Korea) and 2016 (Italy). She also partook in national diplomatic training held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs namely the Mini Multi-Stage Negotiation Simulation (MSNS) last November 2015 in Bandung, and on the national level in April 2016. Her constant involvement in debating sharpens her critical and analytical thinking. She is currently working as a research assistant for her respective lecturer.
Jeanne is serious and committed to her task; once she forgot to eat two whole days because of her busyness. Nevertheless, she is totally a welcoming and astounding friend to hang out with. She’s obsessed with shopping, chocolate, and pie susu. Her outgoing character would ensure an entertaining and qualified session where professionality meets friendship.
Email : Jeannesanjaya04@gmail.com
Chair - Yuri Nurrahim
Yuri Nurrahim born on March 17th, 1994, into a diplomat family has always been surrounded by aspects that highly pertain to international relations throughout his entire life. He was born in Jakarta but later moved to Perth, Australia, due to his mother’s career as a diplomat; he lived in Australia, for 5 years and returned when he was in grade 3. His mother later on received another placement by the ministry of foreign affairs in Toronto, Canada, Yuri moved to Canada in grade 6 and stayed for 4 years before returning home once again. Living abroad has made Yuri highly adaptable to new situations; also Yuri’s English in both writing and speaking is highly exceptional. Yuri began his career in Model United Nations in 2010 and since then he has been involved in more than 20 MUN’s with 15 awards under his belt, including UPHMUN 2011 in which he received a full scholarship from Universitas Pelita Harapan, the university he currently attends studying in International Relations. Yuri is currently awaiting his graduation from UPH in November 2016.
