Economic prosperity or democracy: Dilemma of development in Hong Kong and China

After Hong Kong is integrated with mainland China in July 1997, the economic and political environments of the two places will inevitably link up with each other. Economic modernization significantly not only improves the living conditions of the Chinese, but also alters their social structure and political values. As such, economic prosperity and democracy become the two conflicting values in Hong Kong and China during the transition to 2000. The people of Hong Kong and China are presented a choice over two mutually exclusive targets: economic prosperity vs. democracy. On the one hand, the choice for economic prosperity will imply no democracy because a conservative political system will be maintained to preserve the political status quo. On the other hand, the choice for democracy will imply no economic prosperity, because democratization will be suppressed and hence the economy will suffer as a result of political instability. However, neither of these two choices could offer the people of Hong Kong and China a genuine prosperity and stability. Therefore a congruent relationship between the economy and the political system must be established and maintained. As prosperity is contributed by both economic growth and political stability, neglection of either of these two elements will not result in a long‐lasting prosperity. Thus, economic development and democratization are two complementary rather than contradicting forces on the road to development in China.     

Hong Kong in United States‐China relations: The international politics of Hong Kong's reversion to Chinese sovereignty

This article examines the implications of the political transition of Hong Kong on US‐China relations in strategic, political and economic dimensions. It evaluates the impact of Hong Kong's changing status in the context of the engagement‐containment debate on China policy in the US. It suggests that US concerns over questions such as democracy and human rights and China's rejection of foreign interference’ in Hong Kong would turn the territory into a source of political conflict between the US and China. Finally it points out that any major trade confrontation between the two countries would have serious implications for the territory. The article concludes by arguing that if Hong Kong could continue to be a prosperous and free society with a global outlook, it would facilitate China's integration with the global community, but if a reversion to authoritarian rule occurred in Hong Kong, US‐China relations will be aversely affected.     

The Role of a Political Interest Group in Democratization of China and Hong Kong: the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (HKASPDM) is a cross-border political interest group advocating for democratization in both mainland China and Hong Kong. It was involved in the bold rescue of mainland democrats out of the PRC shortly after the June 1989 Tiananmen crackdown; it constantly exerts pressure on the PRC government to release its political prisoners; it has been influencing the Hong Kong government on the scope and pace of democratization; it communicates with and subsidizes overseas Chinese groups supportive of democratic reforms in China; it is persistently educating the younger generations of Hong Kong and most importantly mainland visitors to Hong Kong on the 1989 Tiananmen tragedy; and its supporters have attempted to cross the border of Hong Kong to Macao to influence the policy of the Chinese government toward political prisoners. As a political interest group based in Hong Kong with cross-border influences on both the mainland and Macao, the Alliance has been making full use of the available political space and freedom of assembly in Hong Kong to achieve their ultimate objective of having a ‘democratic China’. Its existence in the HKSAR is an indication of a certain degree of political tolerance by both the Hong Kong government and Beijing, which have to be very careful of the need to maintain an image of the feasible formula of ‘one country, two systems’ in Hong Kong.     

Hong Kong's ‘One Country,Two Systems’ Experience under the Basic Law: two perspectives from Chinese legal scholars

Hong Kong is an administrative and economic entity under Chinese sovereignty. Essentially, the local political system that Hong Kong has adopted is that of a non-sovereign state as well as a non-political entity. It is neither entirely occidental nor completely oriental, but an executive-led system which has developed according to Hong Kong's characteristics and has proved to be an effective one. 1997 was not the end of the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ policy, but its beginning. To guarantee the policy's success is in the overall interest of both Hong Kong and China. As such, China has no greater interests in Hong Kong than to maintain its stability and prosperity. The Chinese Central Authorities will continue to abide by the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ policy and the Basic Law whenever problems regarding Hong Kong arise.     

Stock market integration in Hong Kong and China

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange currently ranks sixth in terms of trading volumes in the world while China's fledgling securities industry at Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges combined is barely more than 7 years old. With 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, the securities industries of the two sides ought to integrate into one market. However, the Basic Law governing Hong Kong maintains unchanged British Common Law system as well as the life style of Hong Kong capitalist society, at least for the next 50 years. To understand how the stock exchanges operate under such a situation and how they cooperate in the future is the theme throughout this paper. This paper first describes the market backgrounds separately in Hong Kong and China. It intends to answer how, what and why China needs Hong Kong market and how, what and why Hong Kong, at a different level, needs China's. Then it deals with the interactions or cooperation in the primary market operations. The paper also deals with broader issues such as the RMB convertibility with respect to the integration of the stock exchanges and tries to forecast the future trend in the regional as well as international perspectives. It concludes that as part of the ‘one country, two systems’, the SEHK will be stronger as it has an added value to China's financial window to the world.     

Hong Kong's policy possibilities and directions toward the mainland‐Taiwan conflict

On 1 July 1997, Hong Kong was returned from British colonial rule to Chinese rule under the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The change in political status of Hong Kong has great impacts on the triangular relationship between Hong Kong, the mainland and Taiwan, in which the mainland and Taiwan are still in a state of intense political conflict and competition. This paper examines the policy possibilities and directions for Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of the PRC in handling its relations with Taiwan. It argues that both Beijing and Taipei want to preserve the existing Hong Kong‐Taiwan relations for political and practical purposes but at the same time will try to avoid being forced into a suspected political trap—for Beijing the recognition of Taiwan as an independent political entity and for Taipei the subordination of Taiwan to PRC sovereignty. Between these two baselines, the paper points out that Hong Kong should pursues its own Taiwan policy built upon the interests of Hong Kong and depoliticization of Hong Kong‐Taiwan relations.     

The Hong Kong Policy of the People's Republic of China, 1949-1997

China's policy toward Hong Kong in the period 1949-1997 was primarily driven by utilitarian calculations of national interests and the interests of the Chinese Communist Party. The Hong Kong policy of China, as an integral part of its foreign policy, was distinctive in that ideological fervor and nationalist passions had limited influence. The goals to be achieved by the Hong Kong policy remained unchanged throughout the period; the strategies adopted, however, changed in accordance with the changing international situation and the national interests as defined by the Chinese leaders. The primary goals of the Hong Kong policy were to secure a less threatening external political environment for China and to make calculated use of Hong Kong for China's economic development. By tolerating Hong Kong as a British colony, China also depended on Britain to control the potentially threatening anti-Communist Chinese population there. The 'over-dependence' on the British to control the Chinese people in Hong Kong on the eve of Hong Kong's reversion to China, however, alienated the Hong Kong people as well as impeded the formation of local political leaders in the territory. As a result, the acquisition of Hong Kong by China in 1997 has not been accompanied by political rapport between the Chinese government and the Hong Kong people, thus sowing seeds for lingering friction between them.     

‘Three Chinas’ and international organizations after 1997

This article analyzes the effects of the transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China in 1997 on the participation of Hong Kong and Taiwan in international organizations. It identifies the conditions under which China tolerates co‐existence with Taiwan as members of eleven intergovernmental organizations as of 1996. It concludes with two observations: one, international organizations are not monolithic entities; two, although China has overwhelming influence over Hong Kong's participation in these organizations, it depends also on how the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is going to manage its relations with China.     

CEPA: a milestone in the economic integration between Hong Kong and Mainland China

Since 1979, when Mainland China began to open up its economy, a process of economic integration has been going on between Hong Kong and Mainland China. The return of Hong Kong to Mainland China in 1997 speeded up the integration process. China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the end of 2001 further intensified the integration process. In June 2003, CEPA (Closer Economic Participation Arrangement) was signed between Mainland China and Hong Kong, which set a further important milestone in the economic integration between them. In June 2004, the concept of regional economic integration was inaugurated in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation and Development Forum. This article attempts to review the economic integration process after the signing of CEPA. Issues related to the implementation of CEPA are also examined and discussed. It is hoped that both the Hong Kong business sector and potential foreign investors can have a comprehensive picture of CEPA so that they can design appropriate actions to benefit most from CEPA.     

大陆香港贿赂罪立法的比较研究

香港贿赂犯罪立法体系结构具有合理性、先进性以及较强的实践操作性 ,而大陆贿赂犯罪立法表现出滞后性和欠缺性 ,应借鉴香港贿赂立法的成功经验 ,完善大陆贿赂犯罪立法 ,从而全面有效地打击日益严重形式多样的源头犯罪——贿赂犯罪 ,为我国经济的发展营造良好的法律空间。     

Traditional Orientations and Political Participation in Three Chinese Societies

Based on three large-scale sample surveys in Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, this study purports to delineate the relation between traditional political orientations and political participation. It is found that among all three societies, Chinese in the Mainland are most traditional. In general, the negative impact of traditional political orientations on political participation is small once education is controlled for. In particular, political participation in Hong Kong is more individually based, facilitated primarily by modernization pressures. In Taiwan, institutional factors such as democracy, elections and civic associations are paramount and are buttressed by a rising white-collar class. In Mainland China, traditional political orientations have a positive impact on participation and this impact stays much the same even after controlling for education. The positive impact can be explained by institutional interference whereby traditional political orientations exert influence differently on different modes of participation: negative on adversary and protest activities but positive on voting, campaign and appeal activities. The findings of this paper imply that the argument that Confucian political culture makes a democratic China impossible is incomplete and will become irrelevant.     

Information Exchange,Headquarters Economy and Financial Centers Development: Shanghai,Beijing and Hong Kong

Over the past several years, China has consistently maintained economic growth and at the same time emerged as a new global giant in the international arena, despite the distractions caused by the global financial crisis, which was triggered by the US Sub-prime Mortgage Crisis of 2007 and the recent bond crisis that emerged in the European Union in 2011. Concurrent with China's growing interaction with the global economy and robust growth of its domestic economy, competition for the status of national and even international financial centers in the region has become fierce. This study focuses on a ‘local’ examination of internal conditions for the emergence and growth of Chinese financial centers over the next 10–20 years. Cities contending for the top slot in the roster of Chinese cities, like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, are striving to become international financial centers and are trying to compete with Hong Kong. This study investigates the development potentials, future prospects and division of functions between different financial centers within China regarding Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, with special reference to the role of information and locations of MNCs' regional headquarters.     

境外污点证人作证豁免制度研究及对我国的启示

境外污点证人作证豁免制度经过一个多世纪的发展,已经形成一整套体系完整的法律制度,其独特的豁免方式在打击贪腐犯罪和保障人权中起到了非常重要的作用。我国在引入和移植该制度时,有必要通过分析比较境外污点证人作证豁免制度的相关立法和实践经验,构建符合我国国情的污点证人作证豁免制度。     

关于《全国人民代表大会关于完善香港特别行政区选举制度的决定(草案)》的说明--在第十三届全国人民代表大会第四次会议上

各位代表:我受全国人大常委会的委托,作关于《全国人民代表大会关于完善香港特别行政区选举制度的决定(草案)》的说明。一、完善香港特别行政区选举制度的必要性和重要性香港回归祖国后重新纳入国家治理体系,《中华人民共和国宪法》和《中华人民共和国香港特别行政区基本法》共同构成香港特别行政区的宪制基础。     

A “greater China“?

This paper sees “Greater China” as a would‐be reunited China that includes the present PRC, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. The coming into being of a “Greater China” hinges on future domestic politics in the PRC and Taiwan and among the triangle of Beijing‐Taipei‐Hong Kong. It also hinges on American, British, and Japanese policies addressing the current trends of economic integration and political accommodation among the three Chinese entities. Of the external variables, future U.S. politics toward the PRC, and toward the evolution of political exchanges on the Beijing‐Taipei trajectory will be the most decisive. Economic and political developments in the past fifteen years have brightened the prospect of Chinese reunification, but national reunification remains a complicated and protracted process.     

Hong Kong joins the National People's Congress: A first test for one country with two political systems

Before its reversion to Chinese sovereignty in July 1997, Hong Kong was preoccupied with safeguarding its autonomy while China insisted on keeping separate the two political systems of Hong Kong and the mainland. Toward these ends, everyone focused on Hong Kong's own governing councils and ignored its future status within China's congress system. Not until the December 1997 deadline approached for naming Hong Kong's delegation to the March 1998 meeting of China's new Ninth National People's Congress, did the full implications of this oversight become apparent. Hence, the institutional channels whereby the two systems must interact are actually rooted in the reforming structure of China's congress system. Delegate selection in Hong Kong revealed a new ‘bridging’ function whereby the two legislative systems are linked through the old organization tactic of concurrent membership. The bridging function also illuminates previously unheralded features of Hong Kong's new post‐1997 government, as a replica and appendage of China's people's congress network.     

Socio-political Embeddings of South Asian Ethnic Minorities' Economic Situations in Hong Kong

This paper aims to develop a better understanding of the economic situations of South Asian minorities in Hong Kong. A theoretical perspective emphasizing the embedding of economic behavior within social relationships and socio-political processes will be employed. This study will examine how three macro-historical processes, namely, colonization, industrialization and globalization, induce the different configurations of three structural factors, namely, government policy, societal reception and co-ethnic community, affecting the economic wellbeing of South Asian minorities in Hong Kong. The authors argue that Hong Kong Chinese and South Asians coexisted peacefully without major conflict or discrimination during the early colonial age. However, when the colonial government started to develop unique Hong Kong Chinese identity and as the HK Chinese became wealthier, well-educated and successful, ethnic tensions began to occur. In this era of globalization, Hong Kong encounters the serious problem of economic restructuring, and the continuous inflows of migrants from developing countries engender keen competition with lower-class Hong Kong citizens for low-end service jobs. South Asians are no longer enjoying positive societal reception from the Hong Kong Chinese. The co-ethnic community factor for Hong Kong South Asians has not significantly changed since the pre-war years. Their sub-communities' internal resources may secure their economic wellbeing through mutual assistance. However, under a very harsh external environment, whether sufficient resources can still be continuously drawn remains questionable.     

Going 'Back' and Staying 'Out': Articulating the postcolonial Hong Kong subjects in the development of China

In examining the Hong Kongers' participation in the social development of China, I suggest that China-development provides an important local site for the study of Chinese postcoloniality. Not only does it disclose the multiple and contradicting effects of colonial power, it also embodies the conflicting visions of modern China between the official Grand Narrative of modern Chinese nationhood and the local narratives of modern Chineseness. It became a site that created discursive possibilities for individual Hong Kongers to negotiate their ambivalent identification with and resistance to China. In this paper, I show how Hong Kongers were constructed as 'free subjects' under the British colonial discourse of liberalism which in turn shaped the Hong Kong discourse of China-development. Circulating in China-development was the image of China as the oppressive and corrupt 'inside' and Hong Kong as a free 'outside' space of accountability and equality of opportunities. Vacillating between East and West, Hong Kongers came to represent themselves as modern Chinese towards which they worked to develop their mainland compatriots.     

香港的政党与政党政治

在港英政府 2 0世纪 80年代开始的政治体制改革中 ,随着选举政治的兴起 ,香港的政党破土而出 ,并逐渐发展起来。香港进入特区时代以后 ,政党的格局趋于稳定。随着政党的形成和发展 ,香港的政党政治也逐渐稳定下来 ,形成香港特有的政党政治。政党和政党政治的发展 ,又改变了香港的政治生态 ,使香港的政治发展出现新的面貌。     

The Hong Kong economy: Opportunities out of the crisis?

The Hong Kong economy has been heavily influenced by the ‘China factor’ and an imbalance in the property sector. Down the path of ‘Manhattanization’, a lopsided economic structure emerged in the pre‐1997 era, which would be inconsistent with the framework of ‘one country, two systems‘. While transition politics resulted in a lack of effective responses by the last colonial government, after the take‐over the SAR Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa unveiled a partial reform package with long‐term targets. His attempt met with the unanticipated consequences of the bursting of the local economic bubble and the East Asian financial crisis. The prospect of a structural reform for the Hong Kong economy is hanging in the balance. This paper looks at the factors that have been shaping the Hong Kong economy and speculates about the direction in which it may be heading in a time of global turbulence.