'One country, two systems' : the use by the People's Republic of China of United Front work in the 1978-1997 take-over of Hong Kong

Mao, Philip Huei-ming

Abstract

Hong Kong was watched by the world when it was reverted to the People Republic of China (PRC) on 1st July 1997. Hong Kong was a British colony that was an important world trading, financial, and transportation center. Under British rule, Hong Kong was capitalist in contrast to the PRC, a socialist country ruled by the Communist Party.

In the 1980s, when the PRC decided to resume sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, the Chinese leaders created a new policy toward Hong Kong, called "one country, two systems". The policy meant that Hong Kong's system would remain unchanged for fifty years while the PRC would continue to be socialist after 1997.

This thesis seeks to explore the PRC's development and application of united front work in the take over of Hong Kong. Chapter one examines the twin concepts of united front and "one country two systems" (chapter 1). Chapters 2 and 3 will examine how the Chinese used the united front in their successful handling of the Sino-British negotiations (chapter 2) and the drafting of the Hong Kong Basic Law (chapter 3).

Chapter 4 analyses the implementation by the PRC of its Hong Kong policy through its agencies in Hong Kong after reaching the Sino-British agreement of 1984 (chapter 4), and how this process affected developments of politics (chapter 5), economics (chapter 6), and Hong Kong society as a whole (chapter 7). Chapter 8 (Conclusions) will assess the overall success of the PRC's use of united front work in its reunification policy.

Citation

Mao, P. H.-M. 'One country, two systems' : the use by the People's Republic of China of United Front work in the 1978-1997 take-over of Hong Kong. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4216639

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jul 7, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2023
• Keywords: Politics; Hong Kong
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4216639
• Additional Information: Department of Politics and Asian Studies, The University of Hull
• Award Date: May 1, 2000