Treaty for a Lost City: The Sino-British Joint Declaration

321 Pages·2022·2.071 MB·English

by  C. L. Lim

AccusationsfromtheWestthatChinaistearinguptheSinoBritishJointDeclaration
over Hong Kong are serious calumnies. This book shows how two diametrically
opposed solutions were put together. The British wanted a treaty, and the Chinese
wantedaunilateraldeclarationofpolicy.Thepolicywasenshrinedintreatyform–in
otherwordsprovingthemaximthatatreatybetweenstatesisadisagreementputinto
writing.Itisarivetingread,theworkofafirstclass,razor-sharpmind,adistinguished
academicaswellasaprominentbarrister.
–AnthonyCarty,formerlySirYKPaoChairofPublicLaw,UniversityofHongKong,
atpresentChairofPublicInternationalLaw,BeijingInstituteofTechnologySchoolof
Law,Beijing.
TreatyforaLostCitygivesatimely,scholarlyandthoroughaccountoftheconstitu-
tional history of Hong Kong from the time of the negotiations that led to the Joint
Declaration of 1984 through to the present day with the enactment of the National
SecurityLawof2020.Allthisisseenthroughtheprismofinternationallawingeneral
andtheJointDeclarationinparticular.ProfessorLimguidesthereadersurefootedly
throughthisthicketoflaw.Noteveryconclusionhereacheswillbeacceptedbutwhat
hesaysisimpossibletoignore.
–ChristopherForsythwasSirDavidWilliamsProfessorofPublicLawintheUniversity
ofCambridgeandisHonoraryProfessorofLawintheUniversityofStellenbosch
ThisisthebestaccountoftheBasicLaw’srelationshipwiththeJointDeclaration,and
therelationshipbetweentheBasicLaw,internationallawandnationallaw,dubbed
‘theHolyTrinity’.Itofferspenetratinganalysesoftheconstitutionalcontroversiesthat
havearisen.Basedonarchivalworkandaneven-handedandfairreadingoftherelevant
legal texts, this monograph offers a fresh perspective of Hong Kong’s constitutional
order.Anelegantandcompellingbook.
–HualingFu,Dean,FacultyofLaw,UniversityofHongKong
Thisisanimportantbookwhichvividlyilluminatesthebargainingprocessthatshaped
theSino-BritishJointDeclaration.ItgivesfullplaytoChineseargumentsaboutthe
Treaty and proposes an original counterpoint to the liberal argument about Hong
Kong’sconstitutionalidentity.TreatyforaLostCityisanessentialresourceforpeople
whowishtoexplorethedebateaboutHongKong’sconstitutionaltreaty;orwhowishto
understandwhatHongKonghasbecome.
–EwanSmith,ChristChurch,Oxford

treaty for a lost city
TheSino-BritishJointDeclarationwassignedin1984andtransferredcontrolof
HongKongtothePeople’sRepublicofChinafrom1July1997.Thissetthescene
fortheestablishmentoftheSpecialAdministrativeRegion(SAR)inHongKong,
whichhaswitnessedcivilunrestin2019–20,culminatingintheNationalSecurity
Law on 30 June 2020. In the twenty-fifth anniversary year of the handover of
Hong Kong, C. L. Lim uses British archival sources to re-examine the Joint
Declaration, the negotiations that led up to it and its resounding significance.
Beginning with Margaret Thatcher’s preparations for her Beijing trip, the book
takesachronologicalapproachandoffersavaluable,single-volumehistoryofthe
Joint Declaration. In light of tumultuous current developments in Hong Kong,
Lim provides a vital, clear explanation of the legal complexities that have
underpinnedtherelationshipsbetweenChina,HongKongandBritainsince1979.
ChinLengLimisChoh-MingLiProfessorofLawattheChineseUniversityof
HongKong,VisitingProfessoratKing’sCollegeLondon,HonorarySeniorFellow
at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, a member of the
InternationalandComparativeLawQuarterlyeditorialcommittee,andmembre
associe´ del’InstitutdeDroitInternational.

Treaty for a Lost City
the sino-british joint declaration
C. L. LIM
TheChineseUniversityofHongKong
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www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781108838757
doi:10.1017/9781108976381
©C.L.Lim2022
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Firstpublished2022
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Contents
Preface pagexi
Acknowledgements xiv
TableofProvisionsintheJointDeclarationandtheBasicLaw
oftheHongKongS.A.R. xvi
parti 1982–1997
IntroductiontoPartI 3
1 NegotiationsCommence 5
2 TheJointDeclaration 26
3 TwilightofColonialRule,DemocraticReform,theBasicLaw
andBillofRights:1984–1997 56
partii 1997–2014
IntroductiontoPartII 79
4 TheCourtandtheCanariesinaStorm 81
5 ForeignTreatyRelations 110
6 ActsofState,ForeignAffairs,Defence 129
7 Demos 147
partiii 2014–2021
IntroductiontoPartIII 175
ix