Sino-British Joint Declaration Research Articles

Book Review: Treaty for a Lost City: The Sino-British Joint Declaration

Book Review: Treaty for a Lost City: The Sino-British Joint Declaration

Ketidakpatuhan Tiongkok terhadap Sino-British Joint Declaration dalam Implementasi Kebijakan “One Country, Two Systems” Hong Kong

AbstrakIn general, this research discusses China's non-compliance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration agreement in implementing policies on the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" in Hong Kong. The interesting thing in this research is that the “One Country, Two Systems” system is a unique system of government because it has never been implemented in any country other than China. The Gap Research in this research is that China in the last ten years has shown an increasingly disobedient attitude towards the Sino-British Joint Declaration even though the agreement is a solution so that "One Country, Two Systems" can be carried out as it should. This non-compliance made China criticized by many countries but there was no intention of China to return to complying with the agreement. This research uses state security theory, state sovereignty theory, and compliance-based theory. With this theory, it can be seen what factors made China disobedient to the Sino-British Joint Declaration.Keywords: International Agreement, Democratization, One Country Two Systems, China, Hong Kong.

The buildup to the National Security Law in Hong Kong: From Structural Contradictions to Direct Violence

The political scene of Hong Kong both before and after the transition from British to Chinese authority was one of negative calm - the absence of violence. Sino-British Joint Declaration (1984), for instance, & a mini-constitution (i.e., Basic Law) picturing the city's future under the People's Republic of China were to guarantee the public's autonomy in politics and social rights. Nevertheless, Hong Kong's political context evolved from poor peace (with the Joint Declaration providing a foundation for positive peace) to indirect and ultimately direct violence. The writings that envisioned "a substantial amount of autonomy" and "democratization" were riddled with inconsistencies and contradictions. The rise of the National Security Act continued this aggressive trajectory, in which underlying conflicts created cycles of continual violence that were originally entrenched in structure but became explicitly evident at a level of mindset and subsequently conduct after 2014.

‘중국특색’ 협상 전략에 관한 연구

This paper divides China’s negotiations into three major types: hostile negotiations, concession-type negotiations, and ‘collision and cooperation’. Hostile negotiations are negotiations that are conducted with the intention of distrusting one side, lack of goodwill. As an example of hostile negotiations, the text cites the armistice negotiations in the Korean War and the ambassador-level talks between China and the United States from 1955 to 1970 as examples. Concession negotiations are similar to tributary-typed negotiation. In other words, it is a type of negotiation in which economic interests are sacrificed for political gain. The economic deficit can be compensated by a political surplus. As an example of concession-type negotiations, this article mainly analyzes the 23 agreements signed between Taiwan and mainland China in the Ma Ying-jiu period (2008-2016) and the agreements signed by China with the Third World countries before open door policy. ‘Conflict and cooperative negotiation’ is a negotiation in which both sides have common interests and there is also a conflict of interest between the two sides. As an example of this type, this article focuses on the The Sino-British Joint Declaration and the 1972 Shanghai Communique between China and the US. This paper intend to derive a unique negotiation strategy to China that is distinct from negotiation with other countries. At the same time, This paper is to provide a useful reference for experts in various fields who will know China’s negotiating strategy and behavior, and will engage in negotiations with China.

Hong Kong Security Law 2020: Between State Sovereignty and Breach of Treaty

In 1984 the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the United Kingdom (UK) signed an international agreement to hand over Hong Kong to the PRC on the condition that it be granted a high level of autonomy, except in the field of defence and cooperation with foreign powers. In 2020, PRC Government issued the 2020 Hong Kong Security Law, which contains restrictions on political rights for the people of Hong Kong. This provision will automatically lead to discourse in international law, whether the HKSL 2020 is a manifestation of the implementation of PRC's legal sovereignty or violates the Sino-British Joint Declaration 1984 as a treaty which contains requirements for the transfer of Hong Kong. This article is intended to examine these problems using a normative, historical and conceptual approach. As a result, even though PRC has sovereignty to implement its national law in the territory, the authority must be placed within the limits of compliance with international law. Non-compliance with international treaties will lead to consequences of internationally wrongful acts as a breach of the treaty.

Textualizing YouTube: Cultivating Bonds of Community via an Online Collaborative Platform in Hong Kong

Textualizing YouTube:Cultivating Bonds of Community via an Online Collaborative Platform in Hong Kong Ka Lee Wong (bio) Introduction Swallow Life (燕子生命) is an online collaborative platform in Hong Kong that aims to cultivate bonds of community and provide entertainment to political prisoners who participated in the pro-democracy protests. In 2019 and 2020, the largest waves of protests in Hong Kong responded to increasing forms of authoritarian control exercised by mainland China in the city. More than 10,000 protesters were arrested and around 3,000 individuals were prosecuted for offenses related to the protest. In view of this, an anonymous group of local Hong Kongers established an online platform, Swallow Life, to consolidate resources to help improve the lives of the imprisoned protesters. On their website, Swallow Life hosts a wide range of guidelines and suggestions about detention, bail, trial, sentence, and inmate visitation, so that protesters and their families can prepare for and plan their responses to the initial arrest and detention. The platform is unique in the sense that it attempts to create a network of community for the detainees through various forms of online collaboration. Besides arranging pen pals for prisoners, it also initiates a special service called "YouTube Streaming Box" (YouTube 機頂盒) to simulate an online experience for inmates who have no access to the internet in prison. To enable detainees to "watch" YouTube videos in prison, Swallow Life invites volunteers to help convert YouTube videos to a format accepted by the local detention facilities. Every week, volunteers upload transcripts of YouTube videos on the platform so that either volunteers on the platform, inmates' pen pals, or families can download and then send the printouts to prison. This [End Page 25] textualization of YouTube videos stretches our understanding of what is meant by media shareability: the circulation of online videos in prison is not made possible by an effortless click of a share button, but is enabled by the labor involved in connecting volunteers and converting videos to a format approved by local prisons. In this essay, I reflect on how this labor-intensive process to textualize and distribute YouTube videos prompts us to rethink what media shareability means. I contend that Swallow Life's practice of sharing YouTube videos is not a form of clicktivism where netizens perform their support to a political cause with an effortless click of a share button. Instead, the platform demonstrates the power of bottom-up participatory culture by fostering an intimate community offline, where volunteers can bond with the arrested protesters, sharing not just their popular media but also emotional support. Context: The Largest Scale Protests in Hong Kong's History The waves of protests in Hong Kong were triggered by the local government's proposal in March 2019 to amend the extradition law. When the amendment is stipulated, anyone who commits crimes in Hong Kong or other places that have extradition treaties with the city will possibly be sent back to mainland China for trial. This is very concerning for the local people, because it will mean the end of the independent status of Hong Kong's judicial system. An independent judicial system, along with other civil rights including the right to assembly, publish, and demonstrate, ought to be sustained in the city until 2046, according to the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The latter was signed by the United Kingdom and China in 1984 and determined the future of the then-British colony Hong Kong, which was then handed over from the UK to China in 1997. The proposed extradition law triggered much anxiety in Hong Kong. Many believed that the law signified a more direct control by China in the city; thus, they would not be able to enjoy as high a level of autonomy as before. The two large-scale Sunday marches on June 9 and June 16, 2019, which were attended by 1.3 and 2 million people respectively, were the beginning of a series of protests in the city where 7 million people reside. The Hong Kong government did not take heed of these oppositions; instead, they decided to proceed with passing the law, while stepping up to suppress the protests with the police...

Skema Visa British National Overseas dan Diplomasi Migrasi Inggris dengan Tiongkok

ABSTRACT In June 2020 Chinese Government officially enacted the National Security Act in Hong Kong. The UK saw the act as a serious breach of the 1997 Sino-British Joint Declaration. In response, the UK issued a new visa scheme for British National (Overseas) holders. The new scheme provides Hong Kong residents holding BNO status with a residence permit of up to 5 years and permission to apply for British citizenship. This research will describe how the UK uses migration policy in correlation to diplomacy through this phenomenon. The concept to be used is migration diplomacy by looking at aspects of the definition, categories, and objectives of the new BNO visa scheme. As a result, this research finds that the UK uses migration policy as a tool of diplomacy with China by positioning itself as a receiving country. The implementation of migration diplomacy by the UK in the BNO visa scheme aims for economic gain, related to bilateral relations with China, and promoting Global Britain.

From US-HKPA, HKHRDA TO HKAA: The Turnings of the US' China Policy and the End of Hong Kong's Full Autonomy

This paper traces the evolution of the US’s laws and policies toward Hong Kong running through the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act (US-HKPA), Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (HKHRDA) to Hong Kong Autonomy Act (HKAA). The US-HKPA, enacted under the Clinton Administration, after the Tiananmen massacre but before the handover of Hong Kong, is a product of US’s China policy based on engagement policy. It represents a compromise between the Congress and Executive and reflects soft-law nature, of which the implementation is largely dependent on Executive discretion. After three decades of engagement polices and more than twenties of China's resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong, the US' China policy gradually changes and has seen a significant turn under the Trump Administration. In the midst of US-China tension and with the bipartisan support from the Congress, the HKHRDA and HKAA strengthen the review, reporting and sanctioning mechanism on the human rights, democracy and autonomy in Hong Kong. Nonetheless, the Trump Administration decision to suspend the preferential treatment of Hong Kong under the US laws on the ground of the erosion of high degree of autonomy guaranteed by the Sino-British Joint Declaration and HKBL poses questions about legality and legitimacy under public international law and WTO law. We argue that the US's sanctions against individuals and entities in undermining Hong Kong human rights, democracy and autonomy can be justified based on international human rights law given its limited scope, special designation and effectiveness and proportionality. We also argue that the trade related measures can be justified under general exception (public morals) and national security exception. We observe that the termination of preferential treatment based on separate customs territory status may cover four dimensions: rule of origin, tariffs, export control and currency. We submit that there is little guidance from GATT/WTO law on 'full autonomy in the conduct of its external commercial relations and of the other matters provided for in this Agreement', historical and comparison approaches may be adopted in appreciating whether Hong Kong still enjoys full autonomy in sustaining its WTO membership by virtue of separate customs territory status.

Practicing Autonomy within a Communist State

Hong Kong’s autonomy within China is akin to a house built on sand. This article examines how Hong Kong’s autonomy has weathered the waves over the years by adopting a news events analysis approach, documenting the Hong Kong government and the CCP-state’s divergence from the autonomy, democratization, and human rights provisions of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law since 1997. The case study of Hong Kong indicates the profound challenge of practicing territorial autonomy within a communist state and points to a new research direction for conducting comparative autonomies studies across communist and post-communist states.

The Question of 2047: Constitutional Fate of “One Country, Two Systems” in Hong Kong

AbstractThe history of Hong Kong is intertwined with British colonialism and China’s Hong Kong policies. This history offers unique and important lessons on the rise and fall of Hong Kong’s constitutional order. In accordance with the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, China declares 12 basic policies regarding Hong Kong and has translated these into the 1990 Hong Kong Basic Law. It is generally held that “One Country, Two Systems” will be the main constitutional architecture of Hong Kong for 50 years, and it will remain basically unchanged even after 2047. However, there are obvious difficulties and enormous differences on the interpretation of Article 5 of the Hong Kong Basic Law concerning the true meaning of “unchanged for 50 years.” Recent years have witnessed the great need for deciphering the time-code of the Basic Law because the question of 2047 draws closer and closer to the central stage for the determination of Hong Kong’s constitutional future. This Article aims to provide legal analysis on Article 5 of Hong Kong Basic Law and the constitutional fate of Hong Kong toward 2047. It distinguishes all sorts of Article 5 interpretations into three broad categories: “Unchanged for 50 years” as international promise, “unchanged for 50 years” as political commitment, and “unchanged for 50 years” as constitutional obligation. Different approaches have been utilized for various constitutional interpretations. But all in all, the constitutional puzzles regarding “unchanged for 50 years” must be addressed within the framework of the temporality of the Basic Law in a fast-paced world. In order to maintain the constitutional stability and endurance, to secure the unamendability of “One Country, Two Systems” in 2047 will be the best blessing for Hong Kong in every possible way.

Yash Ghai and the Constitutional Experiment of 'One Country, Two Systems' in Hong Kong

In 1997, Hong Kong was returned to Chinese sovereignty after over 150 years of British colonial rule. The Sino-British Joint Declaration – the international treaty that underpinned the handover – guaranteed that Hong Kong shall, for 50 years (until 2047), practise different economic, social and legal systems and enjoy a high degree of autonomy, an arrangement known as ‘One country, two systems’. These guarantees were elaborated in the territory’s post-handover constitutional charter, the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (BL). The governing framework of ‘One country, two systems’ seeks to fit a vibrant capitalist economy and a liberal common law legal system within a one-party state that practices a ‘socialist market economy’ and a legal system of Soviet lineage – a unique arrangement that saw no precedent. The key challenge facing Hong Kong’s constitutional order has been that of maintaining the distinctiveness of Hong Kong while accommodating Chinese sovereignty. In his 16 years as Sir Y K Pao Chair of Public Law at the University of Hong Kong (1989-2005), Yash Ghai made an enormous contribution to the understanding of Hong Kong’s constitutional order. Ghai insists that only a contextual approach to the study of law would enable us to understand how the law came about, what it means, what its implications are, and how it should be applied. Situating Hong Kong’s constitutional order in the Chinese and comparative contexts, he analyses the unique nature of that order, projects what the likely risks of that order are, and the possibilities that might ensue, and offers the first, and perhaps so far only, theory of how that order should be understood and developed. In this article, we will first discuss Ghai’s work on ‘One country, two systems’ and the Basic Law. Given space limitations, we will not be able to do justice to Ghai’s rich and sophisticated analyses of a wide range of issues in Hong Kong constitutional law, but we will seek to identify and describe the main themes of his scholarship on the constitutional order of the HKSAR. We will then review briefly what we consider the most significant constitutional developments in the HKSAR since the last edition of Ghai’s book on Hong Kong’s New Constitutional Order was published in 1999.

Восточноазиатская модель реформ

After the collapse of the colonial system, the countries began to be divided into the first world, comprising capitalist countries, the second world — the countries of socialism, and the third world — the countries that freed themselves of colonial dependence, but not yet determined the path of social development. But it was not so long ago that several of the third world countries made a breakthrough from peasant pre-industrial countries to industrial countries at different stages of development. Accordingly, new industrial countries (NIS) of the first, second, third, and fourth generations emerged. New industrial countries have appeared in different regions and on different continents, they have both specific and common features inherent in the main trends in the development of the world economy. But in this case, the research will be focused on the NIS in the Asian region, which made the "leap" from the third world to the first. Because of this "leap" they are often called "Asian tigers". These are South Korea (Republic of Korea), Singapore, Taiwan (Republic of China), and Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a former British colony, which in accordance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration came under the jurisdiction of the PRC in 1997 and became its special administrative region (SAR). At the same time, Hong Kong lost the right to conduct foreign and defense policy, retaining the right to have its own political and economic system for 50 years. In China, such a model is called "one country-two systems", and Beijing expects to offer it to Taiwan, which it considers to be an integral part of China. Of the four "Asian tigers", Singapore and South Korea are of particular interest to scholars and specialists. How could these initially extremely backward and resource-poor countries become prosperous states in a short span of time? The value of this article is that the author points to the experience of NIS, which could be used in Russia.

Lady Justice or the golden calf? The “China factor” in Hong Kong’s legal system

PurposeDespite the preservation of “One Country, Two Systems” for 50 years under the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Basic Law, changes are palpable due to the emergence of a real contest between liberal and pro-China actors in the legal profession and the legal environment in Hong Kong. After celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Hong Kong’s sovereignty transfer from Britain to China, it is valuable to study how the sovereign power influence the rule of law in its semiautonomous city by non-legal measures. This paper aims to offer a preliminary research on China’s political economic strategy, which is regarded as the “China factor”, in the legal system of Hong Kong, and its political, economic and legal-cultural impacts on the rule of law.Design/methodology/approachThis paper argues that China exerts its influence over the legal system of Hong Kong in four domains, including ideology, political elections, legal organization and cross-border political economy. Based on media research and content analysis over published materials of various legal associations and institutions, it is found that China attempts to consolidate its control in Hong Kong by producing alternative legal ideology and discourse of the rule of law and by co-opting the legal profession under China’s united front strategy.FindingsWhile there are liberal lawyers and legal scholars vocally engaging in defense of human rights and the rule of law in Hong Kong, a network of legal profession promoting socialist and authoritarian legal values has become prominent. Hong Kong’s legal culture will continue to be shaped in accordance with authoritarian characteristics and will adversely affect developing the rule of law in this international city.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the study of China’s influence over the legal profession of Hong Kong and in general Hong Kong’s jurisdiction by offering an example to the international community that contributes towards understanding how China adopts different strategies to expand political significance beyond its border.

Financing the Chek Lap Kok New Airport: A Case Study in Amending the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong

Since the signing in 1984 of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong (the “Joint Declaration”), a number of issues involving the administration of Hong Kong have caused friction between Great Britain (“Britain”) and the People’s Republic of China (“China”). One of the most contentious of such issues concerns the financing of a new airport in the territory Construction of the airport, which is to be called Chek Lap Kok New Airport, has already begun on outlying Lantau Island. The total cost for completing the airport, and a number of bridges, tunnels and railway lines needed to link the airport to Hong Kong Island, is estimated to be in excess of US$20 billion, making it one of the largest infrastructure projects currently under way in the world.

From the Treaty of Nanking to the Joint Declaration: The Struggle for Equality through State Documents

This article examines two state documents that signpost the colonial history of Hong Kong: the Treaty of Nanking (1842) ushered in the era of British control while the Sino-British Joint Declaration (1984) spelled the end of British colonial rule and inaugurated the handover process that concluded in 1997. Exploring these documents beyond a textual analysis of their content, this article extends the investigation to include the materiality of the original documents the two states exchanged. Signed 142 years apart, these documents showcase not only the two governments’ agreement over Hong Kong but also, more importantly, the challenges in resolving differences in the culture of documents and the problematic arrival at a common platform as “international standards” emerged. More than just a resolution of archaic confusions in interstate relationships, the changing protocols reflect the conflicts between two great powers. Shifting the focus from the content of the text to the materiality of the documents, this article highlights the state-to-state negotiation over the culture of documents that conventional textual exegesis often overlooks, and underscores the enduring legacy of the 19th-century encounter that continues to haunt Sino-British relations and Hong Kong today.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region at 20

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the two decades since Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty, assessing developments against the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, the international agreement under which Hong Kong was transferred from British to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997, and which first set out China’s “basic policies” toward Hong Kong.Design/methodology/approachThe paper’s analysis of developments focuses particularly on areas of controversy, from the extent to which Hong Kong has enjoyed a “high degree of autonomy” to basic rights and freedoms and the legal and judicial systems.FindingsIt argues that on the whole, the policies set out in the Joint Declaration have been well implemented: Hong Kong has retained its separate systems since 1997, including rule of law and an independent judiciary, basic rights and freedoms, and separate government and social systems. However, especially since the “occupy” movement of 2014, questions about the sustainability of the “one country, two systems” arrangement have come to the surface.Originality/valueThe paper is distinctive in its assessment of developments against the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Occupy Hong Kong? Gweilo Citizenship and Social Justice

The 2017 election of Hong Kong's chief executive has been the catalyst for recent campaigns for social justice. The date marks twenty years since the handover of British colonial rule to China (through the 1984 Sino–British Joint Declaration) and democracy itself is again being questioned. Ultimately, Hong Kongers are concerned with universal suffrage and specifically that the chief executive is elected from just 1,200 members of an electoral committee in a city of more than 7 million people (Census 2011). Occupy Hong Kong took hold of several areas of the city in 2014, with campaigners employing the use of nonviolence and civil disobedience to challenge social and political injustice; their mantra was “Occupy Central with Love and Peace” (OCLP). Through a postcolonial lens, this article analyzes the political engagement of fifteen white Hong Kong city workers. The biographies of the research participants differ: Some are permanent residents who are the children of pre-1997 expatriates, and others more contemporary economic migrants. Underpinning this research is the Cantonese term gweilo, which is particularly useful in explaining “whiteness” in Hong Kong, and I use it to investigate claims about their apparent apathy. Its nuanced definitions and meanings are especially significant in the postcolonial era and contribute to broader discussions of citizenship and social justice in the city.

The history of planning for Kowloon City

ABSTRACTThis short paper identifies from archival and published materials plans for a place called Kowloon City which had an Imperial Chinese military purpose and is now a public park (officially called ‘Kowloon Walled City Park’) after a long period of dispute over its jurisdiction. These plans were mostly produced by the colonial Hong Kong government that made the first planned attempt to clear the place of Chinese residents for a public garden in the 1930s, but this garden could only be built after the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. They testified to the fact that the City has always been planned.

Constitutional Treaties in Hong Kong

This article considers the constitutional role of treaties, with reference to the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984. The Joint Declaration is an illuminating example of a constitutional treaty. It is the genesis of Hong Kong’s current constitutional order and yet there is very limited scope for an international court to determine its meaning. Moreover, the power of the Hong Kong courts to interpret the Declaration is circumscribed by common law rules that provide that domestic courts should not sit in judgment on treaty rules. Through comparative analysis of these rules the article argues that common law doctrine empowers the courts to act as custodians of a constitutional treaty, and suggests sound constitutional reasons why they ought to undertake this responsibility. It draws on recent Hong Kong and UK authorities, including Miller and Dos Santos v. Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union.

One Country, Two Nationalisms: Center-Periphery Relations between Mainland China and Hong Kong, 1997–2016

According to the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Basic Law, Hong Kong was to exercise a high degree of autonomy under the framework of “one country, two systems” after the British handover of its sovereignty to China in 1997. In the initial post-handover period, Beijing adopted a policy of nonintervention in Hong Kong, but the outbreak of the July 1, 2003 protest triggered a subsequent change of policy. Since then, Beijing has embarked on state-building nationalism, adopting incorporation strategies so as to subject Hong Kong to greater central control over the political, economic, and ideological arenas. Ironically, instead of successfully assimilating Hongkongese into one Chinese nation, Beijing’s incorporation strategies are leading to a rise of peripheral nationalism in the city-state and waves of counter-mobilization. This article analyzes mainland–Hong Kong relations on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the handover and offers insights from an emerging case study that builds upon the nationalism literature.