From Fortress Hong Kong to Hong Kong–Shenzhen Metropolis: the emergence of government-led strategy for regional integration in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong government was less active in regional integration before 2003. This study explores what conditions have contributed to the shifting of the Hong Kong government's stance on Hong Kong–Shenzhen integration from protectionism to cooperation since 2003. In addition to secondary data, a questionnaire survey and interviews were conducted in this study. Various external and internal economic, political and social factors that have contributed to the emergence of government-led strategy for regional integration in Hong Kong are analyzed. It is found that regional integration is facilitated by consensus building among the government, political parties, other interest groups and residents within Hong Kong.     

Hong Kong Ten Years After —— Days in the Lives of Hong Kong Inhabitants

The parting phrase, "Manzou," means walk slowly, in the sense of mind how you go. It is frequently heard on China's mainland, where locals indeed proceed in leisurely fashion on foot. But it is plainly inappropriate in Hong Kong. The region's rapid rhythm of life, emphasized by the marching air emitted at each intersection as pedestrians surge across, demands haste of its inhabitants. Oddly enough, the "number eleven bus" is a main mode of transport in this contemporary cosmopolis. The majority of MTR passengers, adults and children alike, are shod in smart sports shoes suitable for maintaining a brisk gait. It is believed possible to distinguish a native of Hong Kong from a visitor by their walking pace. As we observed Hong Kong's fleet-footed inhabitants making their way purposefully along the city's crowded thoroughfares, we wondered about their thoughts since the return of Hong Kong to the motherland, and about the impact it had made on their lives.     

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.     

Business as usual: The dynamics of government‐business relations in the Hong Kong special administrative region

This is an attempt to evaluate the implications of Hong Kong's political transition to post‐colonial rule for economic governance in the SAR beyond the ‘Beijing versus Hong Kong’ perspective. The article examines the changing government‐business dynamics in Hong Kong after the reversion by focusing on three inter‐related dimensions: economic ideology; institutional and policy framework; and the new political environment in post‐colonial Hong Kong. By challenging the assertion that Hong Kong is returning to the pre‐Patten colonial order under Chinese management, it argues that economic governance in Hong Kong has always been more complex than has been characterized in the literature. A conceptual framework incorporating the dynamic interplay of domestic and international factors is needed to comprehend the changing nature of government‐business relationships in the SAR.     

Successful Launch——Banking reform enters a key stage after the Bank of China is listed in Hong Kong

Shares of the Bank of China, the country's second-largest lender, began trading in Hong Kong on June 1, making it the second among China's four largest state-owned commercial banks to go public. The Beijing-based bank's stock rose a     

Britain's ‘betrayal’ of Hong Kong: A second look

Claims of British bungling and betrayal were repeatedly raised during the prolonged run‐up to the 1997 Hong Kong handover. This paper seeks to evaluate such claims. It examines five controversial episodes of reputed British mishandling of the Hong Kong transition: (1) Governor Murray MacLehose's reputed double faux pas of March 1979, when the governor first putatively erred by prematurely (and unnecessarily) raising the ‘1997 question’ in a routine meeting with Deng Xiaoping and then compounded his error by misrepresenting Deng's less‐than‐reassuring response; (2) Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's 1982 miscalculation in requesting a 50‐year extension of the New Territories lease when it was already abundantly clear that Chinese leaders regarded the original lease as ‘unequal'—and therefore non‐binding; (3) Britain's 1987 decision to unilaterally postpone Hong Kong's first direct legislative elections, a decision defended on the disingenuous grounds that government surveys had revealed a majority of the Hong Kong public to be opposed to rapid democratization; (4) Britain's ostensible failure, in the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen debacle, to secure the inclusion of adequate democratic safeguards in the final draft of the Hong Kong Basic Law, completed early in 1990; and (5) Governor Chris Patten's ill‐starred democratic reform initiatives of 1992–95, which sharply reversed Britain's previous ‘convergence’ policy and ultimately led to the derailing of Hong Kong's vaunted ‘through train’. Examining available evidence on these five episodes (and one or two other, related cases), this paper argues that despite occasional, palpable policy miscalculations and a notable lack of official candor, Britain did not do serious harm to the vital interests of Hong Kong. On the contrary, the paper argues, given the substantial advantage in resources and leverage enjoyed by the Chinese side throughout the transition period, a more favorable outcome could hardly have been achieved. The one residual allegation of British betrayal that cannot readily be countered, however, is the charge that racism within Britain's ruling Conservative Party—manifested in Parliamentary legislation severely restricting the flow of immigrants from British colonial territories—played a significant role in the British Government's choice of tactics in dealing with the ‘1997 question’.     

Impressions of a Foreigner on Life In the People''''s Republic of China

The undersigned is Egyptian citizen 64 years old, Professional Engineer, C.A., U.S.A,lfxiving in Jinzhou District, Dalian city since more than 10 months, visited China 5 times between March 1998 and May 2000 for establishment of international business relations between the Chinese firms and business partners in the Middle East & Africa.     

Reconstituting the Rural‐Urban Divide: Peasant migration and the rise of 'orderly migration' in contemporary China

The dramatic rise in China's rural-to-urban migration in recent years represents a sharp contrast to earlier decades when population movement was limited due to strict government control. This paper first traces the historical institutional conditions that prevented large-scale rural-to-urban migration in the 1960s and 1970s. It focuses on three interlocking mechanisms of control: urban employment policy; food rationing; and household registration, and explains the rationale behind these policies and their evolution into a system inhibiting peasant migration. It then analyzes the decline of these old institutions during the reform. The breakdown of these institutions, however, does not warrant the conclusion that the Chinese state has been sidelined in the migration process. By way of examining the rise of 'orderly migration' in recent years, the author shows that the Chinese state is deeply involved in the migration process. The author argues that 'orderly migration' represents an attempt by the state to reconstitute the historic rural‐urban divide in a new setting.     

Human Rights Protection for Prisoners: Its Features and Evolution——In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Publication of the White Paper on China’s Criminal Reform Situation

China put forward the concept of human rights protection for prisoners as part of the modernization of its prison system. On nov. 1, 1991, the Chinese government published the white paper human Rights in China and it showed that human rights theories and practices in China fully embody the basic spirit and requirements set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On august 11, 1992, the State     

Images,perceptions, and foreign policy: New directions in the study of Sino‐American relations

Harry Harding, A Fragile Relationship: The United States and China since 1972 (Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, 1992).

Richard Madsen, China and the American Dream: A Moral Inquiry (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1995).

A. Owen Aldridge, The Dragon and the Eagle: The Presence of China in the American Enlightenment (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1993).

David Shambaugh, Beautiful Imperialist: China Perceives America, 1972–1990 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991).

Jie Chen, Ideology in US Foreign Policy: Case Studies in US China Policy (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1992).

Shu Guang Zhang, Deterrence and Strategic Culture: Chinese‐American Confrontations, 1949–1958 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1992).

Qiang Zhai, The Dragon, the Lion, and the Eagle: Chinese‐British‐American Relations, 1949–1958 (Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1994).     

‘Love is a Capacity’: the narrative of gendered self-development in Chinese-Style Divorce

Employing analytical tools mainly from cultural studies and feminist theories, this article examines the televisual representation of changing family values, intimate relationships and gender dynamics parallel to China's neoliberal turn. Specifically, I will offer a close reading of Chinese-Style Divorce, a mega-hit television drama, in a larger context of sociopolitical conditions and cultural trends, particularly a neoliberal market economy and the ongoing state-sponsored ‘harmonious society’ campaign. I intend to explore how cultural representations of divorce play a key role in projecting and channeling the desire and fantasy of a middle-class domestic culture and in articulating a discourse of domestic and psychic interiority. Tackling rampant gender-related social problems in contemporary China, this article also seeks to address the predicaments with which middle-aged post-reproductive divorced women are confronted in a transitional time.     

The Revival of Confucianism and the CCP's Struggle for Cultural Leadership: a content analysis of the People's Daily, 2000–2009

The revival of Confucianism in the first decade of the twenty-first century is a political phenomenon that cannot be ignored with regard to its social influence and the particular meaning it has brought to China. However, so far, there has not been much academic research into the political reasons for this revival at a deeper level. Based on the 228 articles published in the People's Daily in the years between 2000 and 2009, a content analysis is conducted on how Confucianism was represented in this authoritative official medium. The examination of the role that Confucianism plays in the construction of the socialist ‘advanced culture’ provides a clear lens to observe the role of Confucianism in the Chinese political ideology, which is still rooted and based on Marxism–Leninism. This research is aimed at clarifying how Confucianism was pragmatically promoted by the government of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with the purpose of securing its cultural leadership. This state-led promotion reveals the vulnerability of the political status of Confucianism in contemporary China and its unsecured future.     

The “Transcendental” Interpretation of the Concept of a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind: The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Its Implementation in China

The concept of a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind provides new theoretical support for the special protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is innovative in terms of its purposes and principles, logic and technology, and the actual implementation of the contracting parties, which is unique in the field of international human rights law. It is a "transcendental" interpretation of the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind and enhances the ethical values of international human rights law. The development of the cause of persons with disabilities in China is positively influenced by the values reflected in the concept of a community of shared Future for mankind and meanwhile highlights them, which provides "Chinese experiences" for the international cause of persons with disabilities.     

China's Contributions to South-South Human Rights Governance: Concept and Practice——In the Vision of Global Human Rights Governance

Currently, human rights governance in Global South countries faces non-traditional human rights challenges in addition to the traditional ones. The view of human rights governance dominated by Western liberalism is already overstretched when facing the human rights governance dilemma of the less-developed countries. The proposal to build a community with a shared future for mankind as well as The Belt and Road have contributed new Chinese wisdom and action plans for South-South cooperation and global governance rights both theoretically and practically, which has important significance for easing the predicament of the human rights protection in the Global South.     

Human Rights and Cultural Diversity: Evolving Dynamics of Universality and Relativism——Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being～Khalil Gibran

I. Introduction Culture is a defining feature of an individual’s identity. it embraces everything from the traditions, beliefs and values of an individual’s family and community. it is also the language one speaks, and place of worship. Culture is all of these elements and the way they connect to make up one’s way of life. it is often the source forself-definition,expression, and sense of group belonging.     

State–Society Interdependence Model in Market Transition: a case study of the ‘Farmers’ City’ in Wenzhou during the early reform era

Based on first-hand field research data, this paper explores the construction of a ‘Farmers’ City’ in Wenzhou in the early 1980s. It studies the actors, their relationships, and the institutions, and proposes a ‘state–society interdependence model’. It concludes that the spontaneous, bottom-up urbanization process initiated by farmers as described in the texts was actually the win–win result of an interactive and interdependent relationship between the farmers and local government. The reasons are: (1) the actors, including the local government, the specialized farmers (zhuanye hu), and the other farmers, collectively owned, controlled, and obtained the resources; (2) in terms of the mobilization-response process, the close patron–client ties between the farmers and local government formed a strong interdependent relationship; and (3) in terms of the institutional reforms, the folk interests and demands were always a reference point for the local government. The farmers and their government were partners, participants, and practitioners in grassroots institutional reform.