Territory and State Power in Latin America: The Peruvian Case. By David Slater. New York: St. Martin's, 1989. 273p. $39.95.

Abstract

The Sino-British agreement and the resumption of Chinese sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997 have posed fundamental questions about the future of that state and the political and individual liberties which Hong Kong citizens will or will not enjoy under the new order. A fundamental question is whether a capitalist economy (guaranteed by the agreement) can exist in Hong Kong after 1997 without the supervisory role of the capitalist state and the implied relationship with the population. To explore this question it is necessary to know how the state in Hong Kong emerged, the measures it uses to attain its goals, and how it has been from Britain and China and from popular political demands. The author traces the history of the unreformed colony from when it was founded in 1841 till 1967, and then examines the 1967 riots, and the social and governmental reforms and the relative autonomous regime that followed. A chapter on the Sino-British negotiations and agreement looks at the resulting anxiety and turbulence in Hong Kong due to conflicting interests, and at the corporate state, aimed at reconciling those interests, which has been created since. In conclusion, the views of future developments held by the Chinese and British governments and leaders in Hong Kong are considered. Ian Scott has co-edited two books on the Hong Kong Civil Service.