Hong Kong in the Shadow of China: Living with the Leviathan

by Richard C. Bush

Overview

A close-up look at the struggle for democracy in Hong Kong.




Hong Kong in the Shadow of China is a reflection on the recent political turmoil in Hong Kong during which the Chinese government insisted on gradual movement toward electoral democracy and hundreds of thousands of protesters occupied major thoroughfares to push for full democracy. Fueling this struggle is deep public resentment over growing inequality and how the political system—established by China and dominated by the local business community—reinforces the divide been those who have profited immensely and those who struggle for such basics as housing.


Richard Bush, director of the Brookings Institution’s Center on East Asia Policy Studies, takes us inside the demonstrations and the demands of the demonstrators and then pulls back to critically explore what Hong Kong and China must do to ensure both economic competitiveness and good governance and the implications of Hong Kong developments for United States policy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780815728139
Publisher:	Brookings Institution Press
Publication date:	10/11/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	400
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Richard Bush is a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution and director of its Center on East Asia Policy Studies. He worked for nineteen years in the U.S. government on Asia policy issues, including Hong Kong. His most recent book is Uncharted Strait: The Future of China–Taiwan Relations.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Note on Romanization xiii

1 The Hong Kong Hybrid 1

2 Negotiating Hong Kong's Political System 25

3 Hong Kong's Liberal Oligarchy: Civil and Political Rights 47

4 Hong Kong's Liberal Oligarchy: Economic and Political Inequality 63

5 Debating Universal Suffrage Before Occupy: Round 1 97

6 Electoral Reform After Occupy: Round 2 119

7 Democracy and Good Governance 147

8 Hong Kong's Economy 171

9 What Hong Kong Can Do to Improve Governance and Competitiveness 187

10 China, Hong Kong, and the Future of One Country, Two Systems 209

11 Hong Kong and Taiwan 223

12 United States Policy toward Hong Kong 243

13 Conclusion: The Future and Value of the Hong Kong Hybrid 275

Notes 295

Index 363