Now that the celebrations marking ten years since Hong Kong’s handover to the mainland are over, Philip Bowring takes a closer look at the reality of post-1997 life in the territory. From Asia Sentinel:
For those who thought the territory would fall apart under Chinese sovereignty, there is much to celebrate. But for the vast majority of Hong Kong’s citizens who never believed any such thing, the question is whether the territory has made any progress in those 10 years. Second, how does that progress compare with that of its neighbors? Finally, there is the question of how much better off in economic and social terms Hong Kong might have been with something other than its “executive-led” government. [Full text]
The new issue of Hong Kong Journal includes several in-depth articles looking at Hong Kong over the past ten years, including: “So Far, So Good – But Not Yet Good Enough” by Frank Ching; “Changing Expectations: How the Rule of Law Has Fared” by Danny Gittings; “A Decade Later: Hong Kong’s Economy Since 1997” by William H. Overholt, and more.
See also “Who was Hong Kong returned to?” from Danwei and “How the PLA began to flirt with Hong Kong” from Beijing Newspeak blog.
