Hong Kong returns to China Rule

For over 150 years, Hong Kong has been under British colonial rule. China regained its sovereignty over Hong Kong back in 1997.

"It was an event awaited with trepidation as well as excitement since 1984, when Britain and China agreed on terms for the transfer of power over this territory wrested from China in the 19th century wars over the opium trade. And it ushered in a time of uncertainty over whether China would honor its pledge to maintain Hong Kong's way of life largely unaltered for the next 50 years." (NY Times July 1, 1997, Edward A. Gargan)

The then Governor of Hong Kong , Patten, said in his ceremonial speech "Our own nation's contribution here," he said, "was to provide the scaffolding that enabled the people of Hong Kong to ascend: the rule of law, clean and light-handed government, the values of a free society. The beginnings of representative government and democratic accountability."( NY Times, July 1, 1997)

The epitome of the colonists' thinking is the attitude that "our way is right, and your way won't work". In "Modern Literary Theory", the introduction to Postcolonialism makes reference to a book by Edward Said, "Orientalism" (1978) and continues to state...The book drew on the Gramscian concept of hedgemony in order to demonstrate that Europe's construction of the Orient is a paradigm of all colonial and imperial structures. In each case, the mysterious and duplicitous 'other' which is the colonized culture functions as a means of stabilizing and affirming the identity of the imperialist power."

It was interesting to read some quotes from Hong Kong citizens..." It's a good thing we can finally get rid of the imperialists. We're all Chinese. I feel great. This land belongs to China." (NY Times, July 1, 1997). The man who said this was 72 years old and has lived his entire life under colonialist rule. He may be in for a surprise when he must now live under communist rule.

"China's red banner was raised, marking the transfer of this free-wheeling capitalist territory to communist control. A range of Hong Kong's civil liberties were rolled back as new constraints were placed on the right to protest and association, and any form of speech promoting the independence of Taiwan or Tibet was banned. "(NY Times, July 1, 1997)

Martin Lee, the leader of the pro-democracy forces stated ""If there is no democracy, there is no rule of law," he continued. "We want Hong Kong and China to advance together and not step back together. We are proud to be Chinese, more proud than ever before. But we ask: Why is it our leaders in China will not give us more democracy? Why must they take away the modest democracy we have fought so hard to win from the British government?"

After reading this article from the New York Times, It seemed to me that Hong Kong just traded one "master" for another, Imperialist to Communist. As Edward Said wrote " ...the main issue for contention was whether things in the third world hadn't declined after the colonies had been emancipated, but that their history of barbarities, tyrannies and degradations to their own native histories, histories that were pretty bad before colonialism and that reverted to that state after colonialism." (Culture and Imperialism (1993), pp.20-35).