When was hong kong

The future of genuinely elected government in Hong Kong is very much an open question. Most commentators have placed considerable stress on the rule of law as one of the key advantages offered by Hong Kong for business investment and thus an important element in its economic success.

The codification of laws to protect commercial activity from arbitrary intervention has, however, not been matched by the entrenchment of human rights in Hong Kong's legal framework. Although the Hong Kong government has a good practical record in the application of common law and protecting basic civil liberties, efforts to guarantee these rights by placing the territory within the emerging international human rights regime were, until recent years, deliberately neglected so as to avoid offending Beijing.

When Britain ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICCPR in it reserved the right to restrict the application of the Covenant in Hong Kong on matters such as imprisonment and deportation, freedom of movement and residence, freedom of speech, association and assembly, universal suffrage, elected legislatures and, significantly, the right of self-determination for non-self governing territories.

Mounting domestic and international concern about the need for safeguards against human rights abuses after led the British government to have the ICCPR included as an annex to the Joint Declaration of But it was not until the upsurge of politicisation in Hong Kong after the Tiananmen massacre of that the British government responded to demands to embody human rights protection in domestic Hong Kong law by passing the Bill of Rights Ordinance of BORO.

In order to prevent fears about political repression in a future Hong Kong causing a flight of professional people and capital from the territory, BORO, which reflects the provisions of the ICCPR, was made justiciable before Hong Kong's courts and was accorded primacy over other legislation. The Hong Kong administration also appealed or amended colonial emergency powers ordinances which conflicted with BORO.

It is uncertain, however, what practical effect these measures, like the changes to Legco, will have after the transfer to Chinese sovereignty. Any obligation on China's part to respect the provisions of domestic Hong Kong law or international treaties entered into on the territory's behalf by Britain is a matter of interpretation.

China, however, is not a signatory to the ICCPR and has not confirmed whether it will apply the Covenant in Hong Kong or respect the reporting obligations. The Congress also voted to modify or repeal recent Public Order and Security ordinances introduced by Governor Patten which liberalised Hong Kong's previously draconian controls on political activity.

Following this decision, China's Chief Executive designate for Hong Kong, Tung Chee-Hwa, circulated a paper on proposed legal changes under which police permission would be required to hold demonstrations and which would make it illegal for political organisations to accept overseas funding or support. Tung was reported as saying that the reforms introduced by Governor Patten had been 'very unfortunate'. In the face of a strong negative reaction in Hong Kong, Tung later issued a revised draft law which eased some restrictions on demonstrations but which retained the ban on foreign support for parties, although allowing individuals to make contributions.

One of the first actions of the Provisional Legislative Council on 1 July will be to pass legislation which will make illegal any demonstration deemed to be a threat to 'national security'. Many leading political figures in Hong Kong, including members of the elected Legco, fear that there will be little to prevent a gradual erosion of civil liberties and access to legal redress, both because of Chinese intentions and because of an unwillingness to resist on the part of powerful business interests in Hong Kong.

Key Chinese leaders have indicated their uneasiness about an environment of free criticism, including Foreign Minister Qian Qichen, who said, in October , that the media could 'put forward criticism, but not rumours or lies. Nor can they put forward personal attacks on the Chinese leaders. The Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, for example, was reported as observing that business cared about 'rule of law for foreign disputes, not for protests and students demonstrating'.

There are factors which may mitigate against a heavy-handed intervention by the Chinese authorities. The first of these depends on the degree of awareness amongst the Chinese leadership that Hong Kong's economic success has been underpinned by political stability and predictability.

A nuanced understanding of the operation of a relatively open political and legal environment would allow Beijing to understand that free debate and criticism, along with judicial limits to government action, need not be a threat to the Communist Party's rule and has actually been part of the formula which has made the territory an asset for China. Some commentators have seen the appointment of an independent-minded judge, Andrew Li Kwok-Nang, as the territory's new Chief Justice, rather than a more pro-Beijing candidate, as an encouraging sign.

An optimistic view would say that, faced with the possibility that widespread popular discontent with Chinese actions in Hong Kong might jeopardise this asset, Beijing will keep its intervention in the territory's political life to a minimum.

Once again, a successful transition in Hong Kong, as seen by the international community and the people of Taiwan, will be important for China in its relations with the Western world, especially the US, and in developing its economic links and political relationship with Taiwan. Many of China's actions, particularly in the early months and years after the handover, may be uncertain and send contradictory signals about the intentions of the Communist Party leadership.

This is partly because Beijing will be dealing with an entirely new political environment, one which confronts few if any other government in the world: exercising authority over a major economic region which is autonomous in most respects and has developed its own political and economic system after a hundred years of separation. Secondly, a degree of inconsistency can also be anticipated as ideological and regional divisions within the Communist Party and the Army lead to policy reversals and differing approaches by various arms of the Chinese state.

While reformers and modernisers in the Chinese political establishment can be expected to see the political integration of Hong Kong as an opportunity to strengthen the process of change in China, more conservative elements look upon the territory as a symbol of the subversion of traditional Chinese and Maoist values and as a conduit for ideas undermining the leading role of the Party. A great deal will depend on the capacity of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, Mr Tung Chee-Hwa, to balance the competing demands of the various factions in the Party and the Army against those of Hong Kong's business interests and the popular pressure within the territory for maximum autonomy and the protection of the rule of law and human rights.

Tung will be faced with a number of key decisions in the near future which will test his personal strength in asserting the autonomy of the SAR and the extent to which the Chinese authorities are willing to give it real meaning. Decisions on the economy will include fixing the exchange rate of the Hong Kong dollar, relations between Chinese and Hong Kong financial institutions and drawing up a Budget without interference from Beijing.

Important political issues will include the independence of the civil service, the suppression of corruption, controls on the press and public demonstrations and elections to the Legislative Council. Australia has immediate and broadbased interests in a successful transfer of sovereignty in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's importance in Australia's trade and investment flows gives Australia a direct stake in the maintenance of healthy economic growth in the territory. Australia cannot afford political unrest during or after the handover or a collapse in confidence in the local or international business community.

The issue of Hong Kong is of course intimately connected with Australia's relations with China, one of the country's most important but often difficult relationships and one which inevitably has implications for key regional connections such as the US and Japan. Hong Kong in was Australia's tenth largest trading partner, accounting for 2. Testimony to the economic integration of Hong Kong with China is provided by the fact that an estimated one quarter of Australia's merchandise exports are re-exported to China.

In it was estimated that there were over 12, students from Hong Kong in Australian educational institutions. Around , Australians visited Hong Kong as tourists in and about , tourists visited Australia from Hong Kong. Hong Kong is Australia's sixth largest destination for overseas investment, with interests in manufacturing, insurance, banking, telecommunications, construction and industrial processing.

Hong Kong was the fourth largest source of foreign investment in Australia in , with 90 per cent in portfolio investment and 10 per cent in the form of direct investment. A key aspect of the relationship which has developed between Australia and Hong Kong in recent years is the two-way movement of people between the territory and Australia. Each year about half a million people travel between Australia and Hong Kong. There are around 30, Australian citizens resident in Hong Kong, together with at least holders of Australian permanent residency.

The question of emigration has become an increasingly prominent topic of discussion in Hong Kong as the time for the handover to China has approached and many people in the territory have acted to secure residence rights in other countries. There are at present nearly 90, Hong Kong-born Australian citizens and permanent residents in Australia.

Numbers steadily increased from 28, in , with the peak of arrivals 16, occurring from to Australia has major interests in the viability of Hong Kong as a special economic and political entity within China, but even greater interests in maintaining and developing close relations with China itself.

Balancing the demands of the Australia-China relationship against the interests of the people of Hong Kong will present unique problems for Australian foreign policy. From the late s, as the economic relationship between Australia and Hong Kong began to enlarge rapidly, Australia developed a policy on Hong Kong which emphasised its separateness from both Britain and China. Membership of these international organisation was important for establishing a practical framework for Hong Kong's operation as a separate economic region after , as well as bolstering confidence that other aspects of Hong Kong's separateness, notably the rule of law and political freedoms, might also be respected.

Australia's closeness to the Hong Kong issue was highlighted when Governor Patten visited Australia in as part of his tour of a number of Asia-Pacific countries to build regional support for his political reforms in the territory. Although it appears that maintaining a separate economic relationship with the Hong Kong SAR will not present problems for Australia's relations with China, there is potential for controversy over political and human rights issues which may well emerge after This has already been made clear over the issue of the China's installation of an appointed Provisional Legislative Council and Australia's attendance at its opening ceremony on 1 July There are no indications that other countries in the region, such as Japan or ASEAN members, or any European countries will boycott the ceremony.

Critics have argued that the Australian Government's position is contrary to its stated commitment to promote human rights internationally and that the observance of human rights in China would assist its integration into the region. The controversy about the opening of the Provisional Legislative Council, although arguably not a major issue in itself, is symbolic of the kind of difficulties which may develop if there are significant political problems in Hong Kong after the handover.

If major unrest grows in the territory and Beijing reacts by arresting pro-democracy campaigners or suppressing demonstrations and other protests, severe strains might be placed on Australia's policy of not directly criticising China on human rights. As the Provisional Legislative Council question showed, such matters have the capacity not only to affect relations with China but also to reveal differences with the US, Australia's other key partner in the region.

President Clinton's emphasis on human rights issues has been moderated in his second term, but stills stands in contrast to the Australian Government's more low-key approach. The possibility that political repression or violence might cause a flood of refugees from Hong Kong has haunted discussions about the territory for many years. For many Hong Kongers, the prospect that they might have to flee the territory is clearly still in their minds.

The June opinion poll found that 4 out of 10 respondents would seek to leave if conditions in the territory deteriorated. The number of people in a position to emigrate is uncertain, with between , and , having valid travel documents. Surveys have shown that up to 20 per cent of the territory's population of over 6 million have overseas family connections which could allow them entry into other countries.

A large outflow of people from the territory could potentially become a major regional problem, with implications for China's integration into the region and its relations with Australia, the US and other countries in the Asia-Pacific and Europe. There is a starkly contradictory character to opinions about the future of Hong Kong after Business people and economists, looking at Hong Kong's continuing integration into a booming Chinese economy and all the signs that Beijing will not tamper with the territory's market economy, are optimistic about future growth and prosperity.

On the political front, however, there are few people who are sanguine about the prospects for preserving the same standards on freedom of speech, rule of law and general respect for human rights that Hong Kong enjoyed under British rule.

Given recent Chinese moves, many people are also pessimistic about the chances of maintaining the limited democratisation which was introduced by the British Government in its final years of authority. Even leading business people, who speak confidently about the future so long as Beijing's ground rules are observed, are said to keep their foreign passports close at hand.

The June opinion poll found that 92 per cent of respondents thought that corruption would adversely affect Hong Kong's economic performance after the handover. The strongest argument in favour of a successful economic and political transition is that it is in the interests of the Chinese Government for Hong Kong to remain prosperous and politically stable.

Hong Kong is still very important for the Chinese economy and demonstrated success in the Hong Kong example is crucial for China's plans to effect an eventual reunification with Taiwan and Macau.

China is also aware that the eyes of regional countries such as Japan, the US and the international community as a whole will be focused closely on the new Hong Kong SAR after July The provisions in the Basic Law which guarantee Hong Kong's separate identity under the 'one country, two systems' formula indicate that the Chinese leadership understands the importance of protecting the territory's institutions in maintaining its viability.

The principal source of concern about the future of Hong Kong relates not to the immediate prospects for the maintenance of economic growth but to the protection of political freedoms and respect for legal institutions such as an independent judiciary and the rule of law. Such arrangements are foreign to the political culture of Beijing and are regarded in many quarters as dangerous and subversive. Or, if you are already a subscriber Sign in. Other options. Close drawer menu Financial Times International Edition.

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