Table Of ContentTHE
HONG KONG
CONUNDRUM
The peaceful surrender of Hong Kong to China on the midnight of 30 June 1997 after
almost one hundred and fifty-six years of colonial rule was unique in the annals of
history. Rarely before had one power surrendered a rich prize to another. The credit
for finding a solution to the peaceful reunification of Hong Kong, a capital enclave,
with mainland China, a socialist country, through the formula of ‘one country, two
systems’ goes to Deng Xiaoping, China’s most pragmatic leader. Deng, however,
breathed his last before Hong Kong’s merger with the mainland. The book attempts
to encapsulate the history of Hong Kong ever since the territory was acquired by
Great Britain through what the Chinese call ‘the unequal treaties’, the evolution of
the colonial administration in Hong Kong, its emergence as a commercial centre and
financial hub, the protracted Sino-British negotiation leading to the signing of the
Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, the democracy debate in Hong Kong, the ethnic
Indians in Hong Kong and the pangs of transition.
Rup Narayan Das obtained Ph.D in Chinese studies from the School of International
Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Currently, he is a senior fellow of Indian
Council of Social Science Research affiliated to the Indian Institute of Public
Administration, New Delhi after his retirement from as joint secretary in the Lok
Sabha secretariat of Indian Parliament in July 2019. His research papers have
been published in journals like the Harvard Asia Quarterly, Global Asia, China
Report, International Studies (Sage), Strategic Analyses and Journal of Defence
Studies, China Brief of Jamestown Foundation, Washington, China-India Brief
of Singapore National University. He is a columnist with Rediffnews and book
reviewer with Business Standard. He has been awarded Taiwan Fellowship for the
year 2022.
THE
HONG KONG
CONUNDRUM
Pangs of TransiTion
RUP NARAYAN DAS
KNOWLEDGE WORLD
KW Publishers Pvt Ltd
New Delhi
iii
First published 2023
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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© 2023 KW Publishers
The right of Rup Narayan Das to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
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Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan or
Bhutan)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 9781032429359 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781032429366 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003364986 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003364986
Typeset in Sabon
by KW Publishers, Delhi
Dedicated to the memory of
Professor Late Gargi Dutt
and
Late V.P. Dutt
Contents
Preface ix
List of Abbreviations xiii
1. Opium Trade and Unequal Treaties: The Birth of
Hong Kong 1
2. Evolution of Colonial Administration in Hong Kong 39
3. Rise of Hong Kong as a Commercial and Trading Centre 62
4. The Joint Declaration, Basic Law, and
‘One Country, Two Systems’ 85
5. Political Participation and Democratization 111
6. The Nationality Issue and Hong Kong Indians 136
7. Pangs of Transition 159
8. Congential Irreconliability 173
9. Postscript 184
Annexure I 188
Annexure II 193
THE HONG KONG CONUNDRUM: PaNGs Of TRaNsiTiON
Annex I 193
Annex II 214
Annex III 217
Memoranda 221
Bibliography 224
viii
Preface
The peaceful surrender of Hong Kong to China on the midnight
of 30 June 1997 after almost one hundred and fifty six years of
colonial rule was a unique event in the annals of world history. Rarely
before had one power surrendered a rich treasure to another. Even
those who favoured the status had to admit that the hand over was
a remarkable diplomatic achievement despite the challenges ahead.
The credit for finding a solution to the peaceful reunification of
Hong Kong, a capitalist enclave, with mainland China, a socialist
country, through the formula of ‘one country, two systems’ goes
to Deng Xiaoping, China’s most pragmatic leader. Deng, however,
breathed his last before Hong Kong’s merger with the mainland.
Thus, the future of Hong Kong under the People’s Republic of China
had aroused considerable interest among Sinologists the world over.
The hiatus between promises and performance of the system of ‘one
country, two systems’, has been laid bare within less than past 25
years of Hong Kong’s reversion to China.
The book attempts to focus attention on the viability of ‘one
country, two systems’ within the contours and parameters of the Basic
Law of Hong Kong and the constitution of the People’s Republic
of China in the context of political and economic compulsions.
The publication of the book coincide at a time when Hong Kong’s
reversion to China completes 25 years on 1st July 2022, moving
ix
