On July 1st, 2007, Hong Kong celebrated the 10th anniversary of its return to the People’s Republic of China, but the past decade has been a bumpy ride for both the Hong Kong people and the central leaders in China. In fact, in 2003 Beijing had already succumbed to public pressure within the fairly short period of its rule by abruptly replacing its handpicked first Chief Executive with a British-groomed civil servant. This book examines the origin and evolution of Hong Kong’s political system, analyses the current contradictions in the system, and discusses how the system might develop in future. It focuses in particular on the office of Chief Executive in the context of Hong Kong’s transformation from a British colony to a Special Administrative Region in China. The dualistic structure of the Chief Executive’s office embodies a dilemma between two competing imperatives – Communist China’s imperative to retain a colonial political system where executive power is concentrated at the top; alongside the need to accommodate new, increasing demands for democratic representation within the territory. The Political Future of Hong Kong demonstrates how the British legacy left its imprint on Hong Kong’s political system. It analyses the strategies adopted by the Sovereign state as it attempted to cope with demands for representative government in the post-handover years, and the strains placed on Hong Kong’s political institutions by the uneasy relationship between central government and local forces of liberal autonomy. Kit Poon examines the possibility of the introduction of universal suffrage for the selection of the Chief Executive, and considers how Hong Kong can secure a democratic future in the context of broader Beijing-Hong Kong relations.

This report looks at the political future of Hong Kong after the 2014 protests. Hong Kong's political future is an important and timely issue because its stability and the Mainland's attitude towards Hong Kong will have implications for the region given Hong Kong's close economic and social proximity with regional countries. Through an examination of primary and secondary documents and through 6 personal interviews in Hong Kong, several key observations arise. First, there are increased attempts, post 2014 protests, by the Chinese government to exert greater control in the fields of academia, media, civil society and politics. These have not been completely successful due to (1) an anti-establishment and critical segment of the electorate and (2) institutionalized ideals of transparency, liberty and openness. Additionally, one can draw three key conclusions from the report. First, Hong Kong remains an economically attractive place to do business and to work in. It will also retain its importance to mainland China despite some proclamations to the contrary. Second, while mainland China will no doubt attempt to exert greater control and influence over Hong Kong, it will face some difficulty especially in areas that are traditionally and fiercely independent. Third, there is likely to be greater divisiveness not only between locals and mainland Chinese in Hong Kong but also within Hong Kong society itself. In sum, the political future of Hong Kong looks uncertain and whilst there seem to be no real opening for any sort of compromise between the pro-establishment camp and the pro-democracy campy to be reached, the status quo will more or less remain.

A balanced analysis of a sensitive subject: Hong Kong's future prospects.

Hong Kong's expanding export-import trade and importance as a capital market have made it one of the major economic centers of Asia, second only to Tokyo. Consequently, the reversion of this previously capitalist city to the People's Republic of China ten years from now will have serious ramifications for the Western financial world. There is much speculation concerning the impact of communist control of the three principal factors which have contributed to Hong Kong's current standing: its political and social stability, economic reform, and the British legal system.

A close-up look at the struggle for democracy in Hong Kong. Hong Kong in the Shadow of China is a reflection on the recent political turmoil in Hong Kong during which the Chinese government insisted on gradual movement toward electoral democracy and hundreds of thousands of protesters occupied major thoroughfares to push for full democracy now. Fueling this struggle is deep public resentment over growing inequality and how the political system—established by China and dominated by the local business community—reinforces the divide been those who have profited immensely and those who struggle for basics such as housing. Richard Bush, director of the Brookings Institution’s Center on East Asia Policy Studies, takes us inside the demonstrations and the demands of the demonstrators and then pulls back to critically explore what Hong Kong and China must do to ensure both economic competitiveness and good governance and the implications of Hong Kong developments for United States policy.