A Ruling Idea of the Time?: The Rule of Law in Pre- and Post-1997 Hong Kong

Carol Jones

A Ruling Idea of the Time? The Rule of Law in Pre- and Post-1997 Hong Kong

Carol Jones

Birmingham Law School

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

Abstract

This chapter explores the role played by the ideology of the rule of law
in British rule in Hong Kong, especially in the resistance to Mainland
China’s “recolonization” of the territory since 1997 (see Gary Chi-hung
Luk’s introduction for a clarification of the concept). Early British colonial
policy in Hong Kong was that its “native people” would aspire to equality
with European civilizations by adopting the values, institutions, and
habits of the British way of life. Central to this conception of colonization
was that colonial people would enjoy all the civil, social, economic, and
religious liberties of England. The rule of law would attach the Chinese
to colonial rule, securing the hearts, minds, and souls of the local population,
and (ideally) their allegiance to the British crown. They would be
impressed by “the protection of equal laws, and, in a word, all the best
fruits of science and civilization transplanted direct from the European
headquarters.”Although allegiance to the British crown was never fully
secured, by the time the British left Hong Kong in 1997, they had indeed
succeeded in (re)attaching the local population to the rule of law, so much
so that in the succeeding years, it was to prove an intractable obstacle to
rule by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Original language	English
Title of host publication	From a British to a Chinese Colony?
Subtitle of host publication	Hong Kong before and after the 1997 Handover
Editors	Gary Chi-hung Luk
Place of Publication	California
Publisher	Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Chapter	3
Pages	112-142
Number of pages	30
Volume	CRM 75
ISBN (Electronic)	9781557291776
ISBN (Print)	9781557291769
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2017

Publication series

Name	China Research Monographs
Publisher	Institute of East Asian Studies - University of California, Berkeley
Number	CRM 75

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities

Keywords

China
Hong Kong
rule of law
identity

Access to Document

https://ieas.directfrompublisher.com/catalog/book/british-chinese-colonyLicence: None: All rights reserved

Cite this

Jones, C. (2017). A Ruling Idea of the Time? The Rule of Law in Pre- and Post-1997 Hong Kong. In G. C. Luk (Ed.), From a British to a Chinese Colony?: Hong Kong before and after the 1997 Handover (Vol. CRM 75, pp. 112-142). (China Research Monographs; No. CRM 75). Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley. https://ieas.directfrompublisher.com/catalog/book/british-chinese-colony

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abstract = "This chapter explores the role played by the ideology of the rule of law in British rule in Hong Kong, especially in the resistance to Mainland China{\textquoteright}s “recolonization” of the territory since 1997 (see Gary Chi-hung Luk{\textquoteright}s introduction for a clarification of the concept). Early British colonial policy in Hong Kong was that its “native people” would aspire to equality with European civilizations by adopting the values, institutions, and habits of the British way of life. Central to this conception of colonization was that colonial people would enjoy all the civil, social, economic, and religious liberties of England. The rule of law would attach the Chinese to colonial rule, securing the hearts, minds, and souls of the local population, and (ideally) their allegiance to the British crown. They would be impressed by “the protection of equal laws, and, in a word, all the best fruits of science and civilization transplanted direct from the European headquarters.”Although allegiance to the British crown was never fully secured, by the time the British left Hong Kong in 1997, they had indeed succeeded in (re)attaching the local population to the rule of law, so much so that in the succeeding years, it was to prove an intractable obstacle to rule by the People{\textquoteright}s Republic of China (PRC).",

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Jones, C 2017, A Ruling Idea of the Time? The Rule of Law in Pre- and Post-1997 Hong Kong. in GC Luk (ed.), From a British to a Chinese Colony?: Hong Kong before and after the 1997 Handover. vol. CRM 75, China Research Monographs, no. CRM 75, Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, California, pp. 112-142. <https://ieas.directfrompublisher.com/catalog/book/british-chinese-colony>

A Ruling Idea of the Time? The Rule of Law in Pre- and Post-1997 Hong Kong. / Jones, Carol.
From a British to a Chinese Colony?: Hong Kong before and after the 1997 Handover. ed. / Gary Chi-hung Luk. Vol. CRM 75 California: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 2017. p. 112-142 (China Research Monographs; No. CRM 75).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

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AB - This chapter explores the role played by the ideology of the rule of law in British rule in Hong Kong, especially in the resistance to Mainland China’s “recolonization” of the territory since 1997 (see Gary Chi-hung Luk’s introduction for a clarification of the concept). Early British colonial policy in Hong Kong was that its “native people” would aspire to equality with European civilizations by adopting the values, institutions, and habits of the British way of life. Central to this conception of colonization was that colonial people would enjoy all the civil, social, economic, and religious liberties of England. The rule of law would attach the Chinese to colonial rule, securing the hearts, minds, and souls of the local population, and (ideally) their allegiance to the British crown. They would be impressed by “the protection of equal laws, and, in a word, all the best fruits of science and civilization transplanted direct from the European headquarters.”Although allegiance to the British crown was never fully secured, by the time the British left Hong Kong in 1997, they had indeed succeeded in (re)attaching the local population to the rule of law, so much so that in the succeeding years, it was to prove an intractable obstacle to rule by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

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