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1 - Ten Years Later: 1997–2007 as History
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
- Chapter
- Additional Information
How has Hong Kong changed since July 1997? Is it better or worse off as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China than it was as the only significant remaining colony of a long-gone British empire? These are two of the most frequently asked questions since Hong Kong’s reversion to Chinese sovereignty, but a question that is asked much less often is how the past decade fits into the overall history of Hong Kong. This chapter provides an overview of the decade since the 1997 retrocession by framing it within the wider scope of Hong Kong’s history and within comparative colonial history. After briefly reviewing some of the changes and continuities in the period between 1997 and 2007, the chapter considers three main issues: the problems of periodization and definitions inherent in Hong Kong’s unique decolonization process, the difficulties involved in commemorating Hong Kong’s first postcolonial decade, and some of the region’s colonial legacies and current political realities. Changes and Continuities The flags and other official symbols of Hong Kong have of course changed since 1997. The term “Royal” has been dropped almost everywhere except, for example, at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. In perhaps one of the most noticeable recent changes, Tsang Tak-sing, the leftist journalist imprisoned by the colonial government in 1967 simply for distributing so-called “inflammatory leaflets” in his high school, was recently appointed secretary for home affairs. The overwhelming majority of tourists are no longer Westerners but mainland Chinese, who often learn the hard way that their compatriots are only too happy to sell them replica 1 Ten Years Later: 1997–2007 as History John M. Carroll ch01(009-023).indd 9 25/05/2010 2:58 PM 10 John M. Carroll watches and defective goods (manufactured, of course, on the Mainland). Whereas Westerners used to travel to Hong Kong to catch a glimpse of “Red China” across the border, they also came to see traditional China, preserved in the New Territories and seemingly unchanged by the Communist revolution. Now, newspapers and magazines overseas frequently carry articles about Hong Kong’s heritage and the dynamic, hybrid flair reflected in its cinema, cuisine and architecture. Still, observers are often struck by how little the region seems to have changed since 1997. Even though the British presence in Hong Kong has been dramatically reduced, and Mandarin (or Putonghua) is spoken much more widely than before, English remains the language of success in business and government. British colonial street names survive. Chief Executive Donald Tsang’s talk about his humble roots notwithstanding, the older and relatively conservative make-up of his cabinet is remarkably similar to that of its colonial predecessor. Far from being threatened by the transfer to Chinese sovereignty, HongKong’slaissez-fairesystemhasbeenenshrinedintheBasicLawandblessed by the PRC government. Like its colonial predecessor, the SAR government has tried to promote economic growth and development as a way of helping its subjects forget about Hong Kong’s political retardation, although it now has a new cause to push: “collective memory”, which entered Hong Kong’s political discourse almost overnight in December 2006 after the destruction of the Star Ferry pier in the Central district. Horseracing has retained its fanatical following, recalling Deng Xiaoping’s famous promise that the “horses will still race” (ma zhao pao) after 1997. Hong Kong maintains its own representation in many international organizations and retains control of its immigration jurisdiction and procedures. The reversion to Chinese sovereignty has in some ways had only a moderate effect on informal relations between Hong Kong and the rest of China. On the one hand, Hong Kong and Guangdong have become more closely integrated than at any time since the 1949 revolution in China, to the extent that anthropologist Gregory Guldin has predicted the emergence of a giant “Pearl River megalopolis” which includes Guangzhou, Macau, Hong Kong and some smaller Mainland cities. More people than ever before cross the border between Hong Kong and Guangdong, especially to Shenzhen, while intermarriage — mainly between Hong Kong men and Mainland women — has helped to reshape the texture of Hong Kong society. Nevertheless, mainland Chinese still need permission to visit Hong Kong, while tourists from many other countries enter visa-free. And while survey results often seem to disagree on whether people are identifying more or less as Hongkongers, Chinese or Chinese Hongkongers, local attitudes toward Mainlanders seem little changed from...