Hong Kong's future: Sino-British negotiations, perceptions, organization and political culture

Abstract

In 1997 Britain will hand over the sovereignty of Hong Kong to China after prolonged and difficult negotiations of an unprecedented character. For Britain a successful result would facilitate continued access to a vital area of economic growth ; for China success is associated with many of the policies of Deng Xiaoping, notably possible reunification with Taiwan. However, with the advent of Chris Patten as Governor, and his proposals for increased democracy in the territory, relations between Britain and China have been problematic. In this article Michael Yahuda reviews the history of the negotiations, discusses the reasons for the mistrust between the two sides and draws our attention to those intricacies of Chinese politics which are bound to affect the final outcome.