Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong

The Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong (HKSAR) was established in 1997 when China recovered sovereignty over Hong Kong following the terms set out in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. The Chinese government promised to adopt “One Country, Two Systems,” keeping the capitalist system and lifestyle of Hong Kong “fifty years unchanged.” Hong Kong was promised a high level of autonomy, with civil liberties, rule of law, and judicial independence guaranteed in the Basic Law, the mini-constitution. With universal suffrage elections promised in the Basic Law but never delivered, the struggle over democratization has been the top item on the political agenda for decades. The issue of democratization defines the major political cleavage, with the democrats seeing a democratic government as key to defending Hong Kong’s autonomy, rule of law, and civil rights. The study of politics in the HKSAR mostly centers around several themes: the struggle over democratization, China–Hong Kong relations, the perennial governing crisis of the HKSAR government, and state-business and state-society relations. Knowledge of colonial politics and governance and the social and political changes since the transition period (1984–1997) is vital for understanding present-day Hong Kong politics. The gist of the promise of “One Country, Two Systems” was a continuation of the status quo beyond 1997. The political formula and governing philosophy under the colonial regime were seen as major reasons for the “stability and prosperity” of Hong Kong. The conventional wisdom was that Hong Kong’s success was due to a minimalist state. In-depth studies of colonial politics revealed a more complicated state-business and state-society relationship. The roles of state and political configurations have also undergone a lot of changes since the 1980s. Yet business dominance/hegemony and state-business alliance remain common conceptual tools to understand the post-1997 politics of Hong Kong. Recent studies on Hong Kong politics tend to cast Hong Kong in the light of “hybrid regimes.” With more control and intervention from China, the focus is on to what extent the autonomy and freedom of Hong Kong can be maintained, and how Hong Kong people resist a democratic recession or fight for reform. The rise of new social movements, massive mobilizations, the birth of a new political identity, and value changes in recent years all contributed to the historic 2014 Umbrella Movement. The 2014 Movement brought about a new stage of self-determination currents and more intervention from China.