Hong Kong and China: Building Bridges between Two Systems in One Country

Authors

Harold Kang, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Abstract

In 1984, Britain and China negotiated an agreement that resulted in Hong Kong's reunification with China over one hundred years after it was surrendered to Britain following the Opium War. The Sino-British Joint Declaration stipulated that although China would exercise territorial sovereignty over Hong Kong, Hong Kong would still maintain a high degree of autonomy until the year 2047. This meant that Hong Kong would have independent executive, legislative, and judicial powers while maintaining its capitalist system and way of life. However, these promisesdespite codification in the Basic Law, which is a quasi-Constitution-do not escape the inherent contradiction in "one country, two systems." The aspirations for "Western-style" liberal democracy, like universal suffrage and an independent judiciary, are struggling to coexist with the limits set by the very different system in China.

Disciplines

Comparative and Foreign Law | Courts | Dispute Resolution and Arbitration | International Trade Law | Law | Law and Politics

Recommended Citation

Harold Kang, Hong Kong and China: Building Bridges between Two Systems in One Country, 22 Cardozo J. Conflict Resol. 337 (2021).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cjcr/vol22/iss2/7