Crisis and Transformation in China’s Hong Kong

Hong Kong has been confronted with many changes, challenges, and opportunities since the retrocession from British colonial rule to Chinese sovereignty in mid-1997. This timely volume presents a multidisciplinary assessment of the major developments and unfolding trends in the initial years of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). While it provides keen insights on the dynamics of reintegration with China and Hong Kong’s overall performance under the PRC’s “one country, two systems” formula, this volume goes beyond political and legal issues. Leading scholars examine the political, electoral, and administrative system; the SAR’s legal and constitutional functioning; language policy and education reforms; media politics and cultural trends; and the Asian economic crisis, economic development, and land-use planning. However, Hong Kong’s course toward complete political and socioeconomic reintegration with the Chinese mainland is not yet complete. Future trajectories and issues for the HKSAR are also considered.

“Hong Kong borders both China and the world, and its internal dynamics make a metaphor of life because they are ‘on the edge’ between different external influences. Every chapter of this book brings out this liminal quality of the world’s most attractive city-state. The editors have assembled a truly glorious group of scholars to survey the many aspects of Hong Kong’s transformation as its borders become even more permeable. Together, these writers have put into your hands the very best treatment of Hong Kong’s new story.” —From the Foreword by Lynn T. White, III