The Paradox of Hong Kong Colonialism: Inclusion as Exclusion

Abstract

AbstractThis paper examines the British legal policy in Hong Kong which preserved Chinese customary law as a subtle and indirect form of social control. The initial takeover of Hong Kong by the British in 1841 was motivated by economic interest in China. Hong Kong was to be developed into an entrepôt under a laissez-faire government. In order to pacify the local subjects and the Chinese government, English law was applied to British subjects but the local Chinese were governed by Chinese customary law. Gradually, the interpretation of customary law by English judges and common law courts transformed and even created a new understanding of this law. The preservation of customary law had the paradoxical effect of ousting the local narrative. One hundred and fifty-six years have passed; Hong Kong has fulfilled the British dream of being a flamboyant commercial centre. However, in less than 150 days, Hong Kong will be elevated from the status of a British colony to that of “special administrative region” of China. Nonetheless, the rhetoric of laissez-faire government continues to be reflected in the policy of “high degree of autonomy.” The fate of Hong Kong is certainly unknown. Hopefully, the study of its past experience will shed some light on its future.