Table Of ContentBusiness with China
Series Editor: Kerry Brown
The titles in this series explore the complex relationship between Chinese
society and China’s global economic role. Exploring a wide range of
issues – from the legal system to class, from investment to finance – the
series challenges the view of a country enclosed in on itself, and shows
how the decisions made by Chinese consumers, the economic and polit-
ical choices made by its government, and the fiscal policies followed by
its bankers are impacting on the rest of the world.
Published
China’s Hong Kong
Tim Summers
The Future of UK–China Relations
Kerry Brown
CHINA’S HONG KONG
The Politics of a Global City
Tim Summers
To Lucy and George
© Tim Summers 2019
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
No reproduction without permission.
All rights reserved.
First published in 2019 by Agenda Publishing
Agenda Publishing Limited
The Core
Bath Lane
Newcastle Helix
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE4 5TF
www.agendapub.com
ISBN 978-1-78821-068-3 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-78821-069-0 (paperback)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Typeset by JS Typesetting Ltd, Porthcawl, Mid Glamorgan
Printed and bound in the UK by TJ International
Contents
Note on transliteration vii
Glossary and abbreviations ix
Map xi
Introduction 1
1. Hong Kong before 1997 11
2. Implementing the handover settlement 33
3. Hong Kong’s economy, globalization and the rise of China 55
4. The Occupy movement and its aftermath 77
5. International dimensions of the Hong Kong SAR 103
6. Hong Kong’s future 127
Afterword 147
Timeline: Key dates in Hong Kong’s political history 155
Notes 157
Index 167
v
Note on transliteration
This book makes occasional use of Chinese characters. I use the tradi-
tional full-form version of Chinese characters dominant in Hong Kong
rather than the short form in use in mainland China. As is common
practice in writing about China, I follow these in the text with the stand-
ard Putonghua (or Mandarin Chinese) romanization, known most com-
monly as pinyin. However on a couple of occasions where the phrases
are more particular to Hong Kong or to Cantonese I have chosen to use
instead the Yale romanization for Cantonese (without diacritical marks
which indicate intonation), to reflect the way that these characters are
spoken by most people in Hong Kong. These usages are marked [Cant.].
Many people in Hong Kong have adopted non-Chinese names for
use in English, or write their names using initials with the surname sec-
ond (C. K. Wong or Lucy Chan, for example), and I tend to follow that
practice when talking about people from Hong Kong. However, when
referring to Chinese officials such as Xi Jinping, I follow the practice
elsewhere in China that the surname comes first, including in English.
For non-Cantonese Chinese names I use the contemporary pinyin
spelling, with the exception of historical figures and references, such as
Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party),
where I adopt the more common versions in English.
The book uses US dollars to refer to economic indicators. Where these
are converted from source data in Hong Kong dollars this is done at a
rate of US$1 = HK$7.80, reflecting the peg put in place in 1983. Amounts
in renminbi or RMB (China’s currency) have been converted using aver-
age exchange rates for the year in question. Tables in Chapter 3 outline
some economic data, in particular gross domestic product (GDP) taken
from data published in 2018. In the text most of the references to annual
vii
China’s Hong Kong
rates of growth in GDP are to figures published at the time, rather than
to the revised figures using current prices indicated in the tables. I hope
that any inconsistency is minimal and does not detract from the key
arguments of the book.
viii
Glossary and abbreviations
Basic Law The “mini constitution” promulgated
in 1990, which outlines in Chinese law
the arrangements for the governance of
Hong Kong
CCP or CPC Chinese Communist Party or
Communist Party of China
Chief Executive Head of the Hong Kong SAR and its
government
Court of Final Appeal (CFA) The highest court in the Hong Kong SAR
CPGLO Central People’s Government Liaison
Office, the representative office of the
central (national-level) authorities
in Hong Kong which houses both
Communist Party and central govern-
ment representatives
Executive Council Body which advises the chief executive
on policy issues, consisting of political
and business figures
FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the
foreign ministry of the United Kingdom
(UK)
Joint Declaration Agreement, signed in 1984, between the
UK and China on the handover of Hong
Kong
Legislative Council (LegCo) Hong Kong’s legislative body
MFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China
ix
China’s Hong Kong
NPC & NPCSC National People’s Congress, the highest
state institution and legislature of the
PRC, and NPC Standing Committee
“One country, two systems” The principle under which Hong Kong
operates as a Special Administrative
Region (SAR) of the PRC
PRC People’s Republic of China
SAR Special Administrative Region, the status
Hong Kong and Macao enjoy in the PRC
political system
x
