First published in 1977, The Hong Kong Region is a historical reconstruction of long-settled vil­lage and township society in Hong Kong's New Territories between 1850 and 1911. The book's central argument is that the gentry and bureau­cracy played almost no role in these commu­nities, which were run by local peasants and shopkeepers who had to deal virtually unaided with routine administration and with every form of disaster, natural or man-made. A sub­stantial new introduction reviews the research and its wider implications for our understand­ing of traditional Chinese society in the light of later scholarly studies.

Prompted by the Chinese saying, 'When I walk along with two others, I am bound to be able to learn from them', the title of this memoir reflects the author's close association with the local people through his work and leisure interests, and his consuming desire to learn as much as he could about their history and culture. The book covers several decades of Hong Kong's recent past, from the time James Hayes joined the Administrative Grade of the Hong Kong Civil Service in the 1950s to his retirement in the 1980s, thirty-two years later. Spending practically his whole career in departments rather than in the central Secretariat, serving in posts that brought him into direct contact with the public, we follow him as a young cadet fresh from language school to his first posting in the District Administration, New Territories, through all of his varied assignments to his final post between 1985-87, when he again served in a very changed New Territories in charge of an equally altered District Administration. James Hayes is also a scholar, known for his books on the Hong Kong region and its people, with a Ph.D. from London University and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters bestowed by the University of Hong Kong in 1992. In this, his latest work, he gives an engaging first-hand account of what it was like to be an expatriate government officer in an ever-changing Hong Kong, paying particular attention to the government and people relationship over that time, and its transformation over the years.

This edited book examines the significance of intangible cultural heritage to local communities and the state in Hong Kong and China. Through ethnographic studies, the various chapters in this edited book argue for the role of the local community in the creation and conservation of the intangible cultural heritage and traditions. Irrespective of whether they are selected and listed as regional, national or UNESO intangible cultural heritage, they are part of the living traditions unique to that particular local community. This edited book argues that there are threefold significance of intangible cultural heritage to the local community and the state. First, intangible cultural heritage is seen as a social prestige. Second, it acts as socio-cultural and economic capital for members of the community to tap into to ensure socio-cultural and economic sustainability of the community. Finally, the intangible cultural heritage serves as a depository of the collective memories of the community, linking the past to the present and the future.

For decades, Hong Kong has maintained precarious freedom at the edge of competing world powers. In City on the Edge, Ho-fung Hung offers a timely and engaging account of Hong Kong's development from precolonial times to the present, with particular focus on the post 1997 handover period. Through careful analysis of vast economic data, a myriad of political events, and intricate networks of actors and ideas, Hung offers readers insight into the fraught economic, political, and social forces that led to the 2019 uprising, while situating the protests in the context of global finance and the geopolitics of the US-China rivalry. A provocative contribution to the discussion on Hong Kong's position in today's world, City on the Edge demonstrates that the resistance and repression of 2019-2020 does not spell the end of Hong Kong but the beginning of a long conflict with global repercussions.

In this interdisciplinary study, the authors argue that Hong Kong should strengthen the mobility of its population. One country, two systems is a concept not uniquely reserved for post-1997 Hong Kong. Historically, the territory has thrived on being simultaneously part of China and the world. Flexible positioning at the margins has made it a node in the crossroads of empires, trading communities, industrial assembly lines, and now global finance, consumption and media. This essential characteristic, Hong Kong as a 'space of flow,' has always been the source of its success.The book shows that a porous border in fact has been maintained in the post-war years. Unique institutions developed over the century have absorbed waves of immigrants entering from China. However, the study warns that the population is now aging when compared with other world cities and China's fast growing urban centers. Only with a massive input of young, educated, and diverse human talents can Hong Kong remain a vibrant portal for the creative fusion of capital, goods, services, cultural horizons, aspirations and civic energies.

Through the history of a charitable institution, the Tung Wah Hospital, Elizabeth Sinn reshapes and greatly deepens our understanding of the evolving interactions between the Chinese community in Hong Kong and the colonial rulers. She traces the rise to power of the Chinese merchants who organized and operated the Hospital and the complex relationships that the Hospital developed with the colonial regime, Mainland Chinese officials and the Chinese people of Hong Kong. As the first organized merchant elite recognized by the colonial government, the Tung Wah Hospital Committee played a crucial political role in nineteenth-century Hong Kong, mediating between ordinary Chinese and the colonial administration. Elizabeth Sinn’s classic and pioneering study shows the great extent to which the Hospital’s history is the history of Hong Kong itself. The author highlights the problems encountered by the Hong Kong government in managing a foreign population and the role of the Chinese local elite in a colonial situation, while also exploring the complex but fascinating relations between the Chinese residents in Hong Kong and Chinese officials on the Mainland, and between Hong Kong and other Chinese communities. Based on primary source materials, this is an original and refreshing contribution to the study of Hong Kong and modern Chinese history which reveals and discusses many fundamental issues that are entirely relevant today. In a new preface to this paperback edition, Dr. Sinn reconsiders her work in the light of subsequent research on Hong Kong’s history and connects it to recent developments in international scholarly work especially with respect to the study of philanthropy and to ideas of world history. “An excellent blend of history and ethnography. Power and Charity is one of the best books available on the everyday practice of colonialism in British Hong Kong. Sinn provides unique insights into a system that is fast becoming a distant memory. This book is required reading for anyone interested in colonialism, medical history, or urban anthropology.” —James L. Watson, Professor of Anthropology, Harvard University “Dr. Sinn’s book . . . is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand Hong Kong society and politics in the nineteenth century.” —Ian Scott, Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society “(Dr. Sinn’s) book is a fascinating and awesomely researched account of the (Chinese) community’s efforts to hold its own in a foreign-dominated enclave.” —Philip Snow, Far Eastern Economic Review