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

To effect a successful transition when Hong Kong was reunited with China on July 1, 1997, Britain and China negotiated for years, each claiming to pursue the best interests of Hong Kong but each in reality pursuing its own advantage. However, the passionate Hong Kong response to the Tiananmen Square incident forced the British and the Chinese to realize that the people of Hong Kong would no longer passively accept what another country determined was best for it. This book makes a significant contribution to understanding China's takeover of Hong Kong.

The return of Hong Kong to China in July 1997 has the potential to benefit China's rapidly expanding economy. China's handling of the transition will have enormous implications for her international standing. This is the first study to analyse the serious problems and real opportunities that the return of the colony poses to China's international status. Examining the relationships between Greater China, Hong Kong and the West, Hong Kong: China's Challenge explores the challenges that Chinese policy makers face up to 1997 and beyond: the clash of political cultures; handling problematic negotiations; dealing with conflicting economic interests. The book concludes by suggesting that a laissez faire approach to the lucrative Hong Kong markets will ensure that China harnesses the full political and economic benefits of sovereignty over the colony.

Kevin Lane discusses the tension existed between China's traditional claim to sovereignty over Hong Kong. He believes that on historical track record China has the capacity for flexibility on Hong Kong that would enable arrangements about its future to work successfully.

At midnight on June 30, 1997, the British colony of Hong Kong reverted to Chinese sovereignty and it became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China. The Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong calls for maintaining Hong Kong's lifestyle and "high degree of autonomy" for fifty years after its transition to the Hong Kong SAR. The primary research question that this thesis will attempt to answer is: How has the concept of "high degree of autonomy" been operationalized since its inception in the "Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong"? This thesis argues that during the period of time from the signing of the Joint Declaration to the actual reversion to Chinese sovereignty the negotiations over the concept of Hong Kong's "high degree of autonomy" established the framework for the post-reversion way of life in Hong Kong. This thesis looks at this issue in three areas - the political arena, the security environment, and the economy. This thesis also examines the situation in Hong Kong one year after reversion and answers the question, "Has China lived up to its promises in these three realms of autonomy?" This period marks the start of a new political and economic experiment for China. China is attempting to regain the sovereignty of Hong Kong peacefully without disrupting its economic, social, and political systems under the framework of the Joint Declaration. The reversion of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty will be a test of China's "one country, two systems" concept.