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Is It Too Late to Save Hong Kong from Beijing’s Authoritarian Grasp?
Article

Is It Too Late to Save Hong Kong from Beijing’s Authoritarian Grasp?

Howard W. French
The Guardian, 2017
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8

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Recommendation

When the United Kingdom returned Hong Kong to China’s control in 1997, residents feared the changes that Beijing might impose, but they also held out hope: Could Hong Kong’s example usher in an era of increased liberalism on the mainland? Journalist Howard W. French provides insightful snapshots of how politics, education and society have changed 20 years later – and how they haven’t. getAbstract recommends French’s analysis to businesspeople with interests in Asia, to students of history and to followers of democracy movements worldwide.

Summary

When the United Kingdom returned control of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the shoeless denizens of mainland China couldn’t have been more starkly different from their well-coiffed Hong Kong cousins, who’d become relatively affluent under British rule. But in 2017, it’s the wealthy mainlanders who “act like they are operating in their colony,” buying up Hong Kong properties and creating such an inflated real-estate market that Hong Kong locals can’t afford to own homes. How did such a staggering role-reversal take place in such a short time? “...

About the Author

Howard W. French is a journalist, author and photographer. His latest book is Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China’s Push for Global Power.

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