Hong Kong: Colony at the Crossroads

Author(s): BRIAN CHALKLEY

Source: Geography, Vol. 82, No. 2 (April 1997), pp. 139-147
Published by: Geographical Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40572828
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HongKong
Colonyat theCrossroads
BRIAN CHALKLEY
ABSTRACT: Due to itsimminent returnto
Chinesesovereignty,
HongKongis verymuchat
thecentreofworldattention.UnderBritish
colonialrule,HongKong'seconomyhas
operatedwithminimumgovernment
regulationand interference.Now,thisepitome
ofcapitalismand enterprise is to be handed
overtoa countrywitha Communist
government. Thisarticleprovidesa
geographicalportraitofHongKongwhich,by
explainingitspast and presentdevelopment,
illuminatesthedebatesabout itspossiblefuture
It concludesthatalthoughChinahas
prospects.
muchtogainfromallowingHongKongto
continuewithitspresenteconomic
arrangements, suchan outcomeis byno means
certain.
Introduction
ONE HUNDREDAND fifty yearsago Hong Kong
was a largelybarrenislandwithscatteredfishing
andfarming communities anda smallpopulation.
Today it is the world's tenth largesttrading
economywitha populationof6.1million. Asifthis
transformation were not remarkableenough,
another, ofratherdifferent kind,willtakeplaceat
midnight on 30June 1997 when thistinyremnant
of the BritishEmpirewillbe handedback to its
formerowner,China.This marksthe end of a
century and a halfofcolonialruleand theworld
waitsto see howHongKong,a supremeexample
ofcapitalist willfareat thehandsofa
enterprise,
Chinesegovernment whichstillclaimsadherence
to thetenetsofCommunism.
In thisarticle,
theconcernsanduncertainties
whichthe Chinesetakeoverraisesare discussed
againstthe backgroundof the colony'shistory
and itseconomicand demographic growth.This
portrayal Hong Kong's developmentand its
of
resulting geographicalpersonalityprovidesa basis
forunderstanding the challengesposed by the
returnto Chinesesovereignty.
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and geo-politics
History GEOGRAPHY
VOLUME
82(2)
Britain'sacquisitionofHongKongwas motivated PAGES
139-147
principallybycommercial considerations and the
need fora trading base in theFarEastwhichwas
under Britishmilitary control(Endacott,1958;
Welsh,1993). It was securedin threestages.In
1842Chinaceded theactualislandofHongKong
to Britaininperpetuity as a tradingpost.Thiswas
ratifiedby the Treatyof Nankingand was a Geography©1997
principaloutcomeoftheFirstOpiumWarwhich
had been triggered bydisputeswithChinaabout
the operationof the opium trade.Continuing
mercantile betweenBritainand China
arguments
led to furtherwarfare in 1856.Thisended in the
1860Convention ofPeking(Beijing)underwhich
Britainobtained the Kowloon peninsula (the
mainlandoppositetheisland).FollowingChina's
defeatbyJapanin theSino-JapaneseWarof1895,
Britainseized the opportunity to extractstill
further concessions:in 1898 Britaindemanded
and obtaineda 99 yearlease on a muchlarger
stretchof land northof Kowloonknownas the
New Territories(Fig. 1). This increased the
colony'ssize fromabout 110 sq kmto over1000
sq km.The New Territories (92 per cent of the
colony'sarea) were always to revertto China
due
at midnighton 30 June 1997,hence the much
quoted description ofHong Kongas a borrowed
placelivingon borrowedtime(Hughes,1976).In
1984Britain agreedthatthewholeofHongKong
wouldbe handedbackon thatdate,because the
8 per cent outsidethe New Territories was not
deemedviableon itsown.
Under British rule Hong Kong has
undergoneenormouschanges.In the1840sitwas
describedby LordPalmerston, Queen Victoria's
ForeignSecretary, as 'a barrenislandwitha hardly
a house upon it'. Now,it is one of the most
prosperousand denselypopulatedareas in the
world.HongKong'ssuccesswasbased initially on
its finenaturalharbourand on a geographical
location which enabled it to become a vital
entrepot port handlingAnglo-Chinesetrade.
Major commercial shipping and insurance
companiesestablishedbases in Hong Kongand
the port'ssuccess led to the growthof related
industries such as shipbuildingand ship-
repairing. The populationincreasedfromabout
5000 in the 1840s to over.500 000 by the First
WorldWar.Thesenewcomers werealmostentirely
fromChina: theywere attractedeitherby the
opportunities fortradeand employment or by 139
Hong Kong'sroleas a refugeofpoliticalstability
 GEOGRAPHY
HONGKONG:
ATTHE
COLONY
CROSSROADS

Geography©1997

Fig1: HongKongand theNewTerritories.

duringperiodswhenChinawas affected bywars and sendingthemassesto settleon HongKong's
or rebellions. The colony's relativelyfew territory. In May1962itseemed thatthiskindof
Europeans- government and traders-
officials strategywas about to be implementedwhen
weregenerally transient. Chinaopened thefrontier and sentacrosssome
In the 1920s and 1930s Hong Kong's 120000 refugees.
economybegana gradualshiftto manufacturing. A fewyearslater,at theheightoftheCultural
Thiswas acceleratedbytheChinesecivilwarand Revolutionin 1967, it seemed thatonce again
in 1937 by the Sino-Japanese war when many Hong Kong's futurewas in the balance. The
Chinesecapitalistsand manufacturers fled,with BritishEmbassy in Beijing was sacked and
theirmoney, to theapparentsafetyofHongKong. supportersof Mao's Red Guards took to the
However, in 1941,aftertheJapaneseattackon the streetsin Hong Kong. The governor,David
American fleetatPearlHarbour,Japanenteredthe Trench, on standbyin case he and
had an aircraft
Second WorldWarand on ChristmasDay 1941 his family had to flee.Notsurprisingly,
theHong
Japan occupied Hong Kong. Britishcivilian Kongeconomywentintoparalysis and property
government was notformally re-establisheduntil valuesfellsharply.However,the colony'sworst
May1946.In Chinaitselfthecivilwarbetweenthe fearsdidnotmaterialise. a fewmonthsthe
Within
Nationalistsand the Communistsended in a disturbancessubsided, life in Hong Kong
Communist victory in 1949·The military
garrison returned to normaland theeconomyresumedits
in Hong Kong was immediately reinforcedto generallyupward direction.Perhapseven the
deter any possible Chinese attack,althoughit Maoist governmentrecognisedthe value of a
wouldhavebeen no matchfortheChinesearmy. prosperousHong Kong, not least as a major
140 Evenwithout force,theChinesecouldhavetaken sourceofChina'sforeign exchangeearnings.
overby simplytearingdown the borderfences AlthoughHong Kong remainednervous

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aboutChina'sintentions, the 1970swas an era of
The visitof the
comparativepoliticalstability.
UnitedStatesPresident, RichardNixon,to China
in 1972pointedto improving relationsbetween
Eastand West.In 1976thedeathofMao Zedong
andthearrestoftheinfamous 'gangoffour'which
includedMao'swife, JiangQing,also raisedhopes
ofa morepositiverelationship withChinaunder
its new government,led by Deng Xiaoping.
Another encouraging signwas China'sdecisionin
theearly1980sto investsome US$100millionin
infrastructure constructionin the Shenzhen
SpecialEconomicZone on Hong Kong'sborder
(Fig.1).
It was also during this period, most
importantly, that negotiationsbegan between
Britainand Chinaon Hong Kong'sfutureafter
1997 (Bonavia, 1985). The speculation and
uncertaintiessurroundingthese discussions
created considerable anxietyin the colony
resulting inan increasein out-migrationand a fall
in stock market and propertyprices. The
negotiations wereconcludedin September1984
withthepublication ofa JointDeclaration.Under
this agreement Britain promised that the
sovereignty ofthewholeofHongKongwouldbe
returned to Chinaatmidnight on 30June1997on
theexpiryoftheNewTerritories lease.Afterthat
date, Hong Kong will become a Special
Administrative RegionofthePeople'sRepublicof
China. However, according to the Joint
Declaration,its existingway of lifewas to be
guaranteed fora further50yearsanditssocialand
economicsystems, as wellas theconvertibilityof
itscurrency and itsstatusas a freeport,wereto
remainunchanged.The Chinesephraseforthis
approachis 'one country:twosystems'.Thatall
areasofHongKong,eventhoseparts'owned'and
not justleased by Britain, are to be returnedto
China is a recognitionof the political and
economicimpracticality thecolonyin
ofsplitting
two.Chinawantedtheentireareabackand,given
itsmilitarypoweranditscontrolofmuchofHong
Kong'swatersupply,theBritish government felt
thatitcouldnotrefuse.
In 1988theBeijinggovernment followedup
theJointDeclaration witha documentcalledThe
Basic Law for Hong Kong (Wesley-Smith and
Chen,1988).Thissetsouta numberofbasicrights
includingfree speech, the freedomto travel,
religioustolerance and the right to strike.
However,fewHong Kongershave muchfaithin
the Basic Law not least because China's own
national constitution makes similar lofty
guaranteesabout human rightswhich have
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proved worthless. The Tiananmen Square
massacrein Beijingon 4 June 1989 and the GEOGRAPHY
suppressionofChina'spro-democracy movement HONGKONG:
intensified
scepticism about the Basic Law and ATTHE
COLONY
had a shatteringimpact on Hong Kong's CROSSROADS
confidence- thestockmarketfell22 per centin
one day and a lot of foreigncapitalheaded for
saferhavensoverseas.
The last few years of Britishrule have,
beencharacterised
therefore, byconsiderablefear
and suspicion.Relationsbetween Britainand Geography©1997
Chinahavenotbeen helpedbytheUK's belated
attemptsto introducesome formof democratic
government beforethe handover.Traditionally,
Hong Konghas been runby a BritishGovernor
(currentlyChris Patten) with the help of an
appointedExecutiveCouncil.Recentmoves to
introducean elementof local democracyhave
been loudlycriticised
bytheChinesegovernment
who fearthatthismightprovokecampaignsfor
democracy in Chinaas a whole.
Theeconomy
HongKongis livingproofthatan absenceofraw
materialsneed not impede economic growth.
Throughtrade,and by turningothercountries'
rawmaterials intofinished
goods,HongKonghas
achievedenviablelevelsofprosperity, thoughits
wealthis by no means evenlydistributed and
thereare seriousconcernsabout the degreeof
social inequality(Leung and Wong,1994). The
colonywasestablished anddevelopedon thetwin
principles offreetradeandlaissez-faire.
Fromthe
1840sonwardsitskeyroleinAnglo-Chinese trade
led to levelsofcommercial development aheadof
manyotherpartsofAsia.Nonetheless, byWestern
standardsHong Kong remainedrelatively poor
untilthelast20 or30 years.Asrecentlyas theearly
1950s,Hong Kong was commonlyclassifiedas
partoftheThirdWorld, butwithannualeconomic
growthratesoftenapproaching 10 percent,ithas
sincecometo achievepercapitaincomelevelson
a parwithmostWestern countries.
Together with
Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan,it is one of
Asia's'fourtigers'- newlyindustrialised
capitalist
countrieswithdynamicgrowthrates.One has
only to walk throughHong Kong's bustling
'downtown'areasto appreciatetheextentofthe
contrastbetween their admittedlysometimes
garish opulence and the generallycolourless
austerity associatedwithCommunist
traditionally 141
societies. Shopping precincts such as the
 LandmarkCentreare a
symbol Hong Kong's of Chu,1994).Meanwhile HongKongitselfis rapidly
GEOGRAPHY
commitment to consumerism and its economic developingintofieldssuchas banking, insurance,
KONG:success.Ofcourse,particularly
HONG duringthe 1980s, retailing, telecommunicationsand tourism.
AT
THE
COLONY there were moments when the Hong Kong Farming and fishing (see Fig.2) whichwereonce
CROSSROADS
economy was seriouslyaffectedby political the mainsourcesof livelihoodnow occupyless
uncertaintiesandtheanxietiesaboutthelooming than2 per cent of the population.By contrast,
Chinesetakeover. Nonetheless, economiclifehas 75 per cent of the workforceis employedin
always resumed its upwardtrajectory, a trend the service sector. It is a measure of Hong
reinforced recentlyby China's move towards a Kong's remarkable economic success that
rathermore open and free-enterprise economy unemployment standsat only3 per cent;a very
Geography©1997 (Duckett,1996). lowfigure byinternational standards.
In its earlycolonial period,Hong Kong's It is interesting to speculateon thereasons
developmentdepended largelyon its portand why,particularly since the Second WorldWar,
tradingroles.Subsequently, it became knownas HongKonghasbeenable to enjoysuchhighrates
the 'industrialcolony'as manufacturing became of economicgrowthand why,morerecently, its
the dominantsector,particularly the production economyhas been merelyslowed down rather
oflight-weight goods forexport.In the1950sand than de-railedby the threat of Ί997'. For
1960s Hong Kong's industrialisation was based geographers itis tempting to ascribethecolony's
principally upon textilesand relativelycheap success to itslocation,and certainly it has been
clothingand on the productionof clocks and well-positioned to serveas a pointofcontactand
watches, toys, plastics and electricalgoods tradebetweenEast and West.The finenatural
(Hopkins,1971). More recently,HongKongbegan harbour has also been a key geographical
to change froma manufacturing centreto an advantage.However,still more importanthas
internationalservicecentre.Asitswagecostshave been the enterprise and energyof Hong Kong's
risen,it has movedmanymanualmanufacturing people and the government'slaissez-faire
jobs across the border into the new Special economicpolicies.HongKongis a hard-working,
EconomicZone in Shenzhenand otherpartsof competitivesociety which, lacking in raw
neighbouring GuandongProvince- a sign of materials, has to liveby itswits.Taxesare low -
growingco-operationwith China. Hong Kong around15 percentforwageearnersand 16.5for
firmsnow exmployabout 3 millionpeople in limitedcompanies.Thereare virtually no import
at
Guandong, wages often less than one-fifth
of or export duties and no limit to the amount of
Hong Konglevels(WingChin,1992;Yeungand moneywhichcan be transferred intoand out of

Fig2. Traditional
fishing HongKong.Photo:BrianChalkley.
community,

142

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the colony.Companiescan be set up withina
week; there are no ownershiprules and a
minimum of bureaucratic obstacles. The
government, therefore,generallyadopts a non-
interventionist approach.As a result,however,
withthe exceptionof housingprovision,Hong
Konglacksmanyofthewelfare systems whichare
centralto the operationof Communist societies
and which are also common in the 'mixed'
economiesofEurope(Leung,1990;Jones,1991).
There is, for example,only relatively modest
government provisionforthe elderly,the poor
and the unemployed.Hong Kong is, therefore,
widely regarded as a symbol of unfettered
capitalism.
This styleof economyis muchat variance
with China's traditionalCommunismyet the
prospectofthetakeover has onlyimpairedrather
than extinguishedthe colony's economic
dynamism. The explanation in the
lies essentially
1984JointDeclaration andinthebenefits toChina
ofallowinga freemarket HongKongto continue.
The Declarationguaranteesthemainfeaturesof
theeconomyfora further 50 years:theseinclude,
forexample,the freedomof the financialand
foreign exchangemarkets andthecontinuation of
thefree-port system. Sceptics,ofcourse,pointout
thatChinacouldrenegeon itscommitments: the
Communist governmentcould ignore the
Declarationor 're-interpret' it. However,on
balance,theprevailing viewis thatChinawillnot
wishto put at riskthebenefitsit derivesfroma
prosperousHong Kong. The colony provides
more thanhalfof China's foreignexchange,a
reservoir ofbusinessexpertiseand a placewhere
Chinacanbuytheadvancedtechnology whichthe
capitalistworldhasto offer. HongKongis a forum
whereChinesecompaniescan seek out business
opportunities and obtainaccess to international
corporations and to theworld'sfinancial markets.
It is also thebase whichunderpinsmanyof the
new jobs in the ShenzhenSEZ. Furthermore,
although the Chinese governmentis still a
Communistdictatorship, in recentyearsit has
revisedits economicphilosophyand adopted a
markedlymore sympatheticstance towards
marketeconomics and investmentby foreign
multinationals (Lardy,1995).Thisis a particularly
welcomedevelopmentforthe people of Hong
Kongas it opens up thepossibility thattheone-
timecolonymightserveas a 'businesslaboratory'
forChina'smodernisation.
This positivescenariois, of course,by no
meansthe onlyviewof Hong Kong'seconomic
future.There are dangers.China could revert
towardsold-styleCommunismwithrigidplans
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and economiccontrols,or Hong Kong'swealth
GEOGRAPHY
could be siphonedoffand used to supportand
subsidisethevastareas of Chinawhichare very HONGKONG:
much poorer. The colony's many media ATTHE
COLONY
organisations (including over 70 daily CROSSROADS
newspapers)couldsuffer fromcensorship oreven
closureand mediacompaniessuchas DowJones,
Reuters and CNN could move their Asian
headquarters elsewhere. Tourism might be
adversely ifthenewgovernment
affected seeksto
attractvisitorsto other parts of South China Geography©1997
(Perry-Hobson, 1995) or ifHong Kong loses its
specialidentityandbecomesseen as 'justanother
Chinesecity'(Ap, 1995). The colony'sfutureis
obviouslyuncertainand there could be many
pitfallsahead. Nonetheless,because of China's
revisedeconomicphilosophyand rapidgrowth
rate,HongKongershaveatleastsomegroundsfor
optimism. The stronger China's economic
performance, the more likelyit is that Hong
Kong's sense of being abandoned by Britain
(Roberti,1994) maybe mitigated by a sense of
new businessopportunities. Certainlythevisitor
to Hong Kongsees veryfewsignsof imminent
economicmalaise.The streetsarebusy,theshops
are fulland the amountof new buildingand
constructionwork would seem to suggest a
degreeofconfidence in themedium-term future.
Populationand
environment
In the 1840s,at the startof Britishrule,Hong
Kong's populationis estimatedto have been
about5000.Today, withover6 millionpeople,itis
one of the mostdenselypopulatedareas in the
world,as is evidencedby the ranksof towering
skyscrapers. The averagedensityis about 5000
people per sq km,but thisdisguisessubstantial
local variations.
The mostcrowdedareas are on
Hong Kong Island (Fig 3) and in Kowloon:
densities are generallylower in the New
Territories and manyof the outlyingislandsare
uninhabited.
The colony'soverallpopulationgrowthhas
been theresultnotonlyofitseconomicsuccess
butalso ofpoliticaland militaryturmoilin China
itself,and Hong Kong'srole in providing a safe
haven.Duringthe 1920sand 1930s,forexample,
firstthe civilwars(betweenthe Nationalists and
theCommunists) and laterthewarwithJapanled
hundredsof thousandsto seek sanctuary in the
British colony.Asa result,by1941thepopulation 143
had grownto 1.5 million.FollowingtheJapanese
 invasionofHongKongin Decemberofthatyear,
GEOGRAPHY thereweremass and thepopulation
deportations
HONGKONG: fellto about 600 000 by the end of thewar.With
COLONY ATTHE the advent of peace in 1945 many of those
CROSSROADS displaced returnedand their numberswere
reinforced bythethousandsofrefugeeswhofled
fromChina when Chiang Kaishek'sarmywas
defeatedbytheCommunists in 1949.Bytheearly
1950sthepopulationexceeded2 million.
In recentdecades,despitesome attempts at
Geography© 1997 tighter immigration controls,the numbershave
continuedto grow.Between1974 and 1980 any
illegalimmigrants whowerecaughtat thefrontier
werereturned toChina,butthosewhosucceeded
inreaching theurbanareaswerepermitted tostay.
This 'touch-base'concessionsimplyencouraged
innumerable escape attempts. It is estimatedthat
in 1979-80alonesome200 000 people succeeded
in settlingin Hong Kong,while 170 000 illegal
entrants werecapturedand sentback.Thiswave
of immigration prompteda changein policyso
that after October 1980 illegal immigrants
discovered anywhere in the colony were Fig3. HongKongIsland.

repatriated.This reduced the scale of illegal

immigration butdidnoteliminate it.
Despite measures to reduce population
growth,the Hong Kong governmenthas at
varioustimesyieldedtopressuretoallowplanned
immigrationin order to ameliorate labour
shortages. Forexample,inJune1990itagreedthat
12 000 foreignworkerscould enter,10 000 of
whom were to be employedin the textiles,
clothing,hotel or export-import trades. The
remainderwere to work on public-sector
construction projectssuch as Hong Kong'snew
airportat ChekLap Kok.Such migrants, likethe
political refugees,have provided a pool of
generallycheap, docile and industriouslabour.
Migration layeda significant
has,therfore, rolein
Hong Kong's economic success and has been
used also as a meansof trying to containrising
labourcosts.The datain Table2 showthatat the
timeof the 1991 census,40 per cent of Hong
Kong'spopulationhad been bornoutsideHong
Kong, with mainlandChina by far the most
important source.
The preciseeffects of the 1997 takeoveron
futureimmigration levelsare difficult
to foresee.
Withthepoliticalbordereliminated, itis possible
thatHongKongcouldexperiencea majorinflux of
Chinese workerseager to enjoy the former
colony'sprosperityandrelativelyhighwages.This

Table 1
Population densityin the new towns
New Town Development area Existing Target
(ha) population population

IseunWan 2-440 717 000 759 000

ShaTin 2000 566 000 620 000
TcunMun 1850 442 000 5"0 000
TaiPo 1150 265 000 282 000
Fanling "40 167000 249 000
YeunLung 1Γ0 141000 22ΟΟΟΟ
TinShuiWai 450 96 000 149000
TseungKwanO 1080 131000 445 000
TungChung "60 0 2(>()()()()
144 Total 116-40 2 525 000 3 550 000

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Table 2
GEOGRAPHY
Hong Kong's population by place of birth
HONGKONG:
Gender HongKong China OtherAsian Europe American Other Total
ATTHE
COLONY
and oceanic countries
countries CROSSROADS

Male 1689 080 994 002 100 635 17 489 9646 1139 2 811991
Female 1610 517 907 912 168 236 13 979 8709 937 2 710 290

Total 3 299 597 1901914 268 871 31468 18 355 2076 5 522 281

Geography©1997

TheNew Towns Hong Kong'snew townsprogramme was

Hong Konghas one of theworld'slargestNew
Townprogrammes andone whichdeservestobe
betterknown.Atpresentninetownshouse 2.5
million people (about two-fifthsof the
population)andtheirdesigncapacity issome3.6
million.Totalcapitalexpenditureon buildingthe
townsnow exceeds£10billion.The firstthree
wereat TseunWan,Sha Tinand TeunMunand
werebuiltin the 1970swhilefeasibility studies
were being conducted to identifyfurther
suitablesites.TaiPo,FanlingandYeunLongwere
added later,followedbyTseunKwanΟ and Tin
ShuiWai.AsshowninFig.1,thesefirst eightnew
townswere all locatedin the New Territories,
althoughthemostrecentaddition, TungChung,
is on LantauIslandand is intendedto support
themajornewairportat ChekLapKok.The fact
thatso manyofHongKong'speople nowlivein
theNewTerritories (yetoftenworkin Kowloon
or HongKongIsland)is, ofcourse,one reason
whyitwas consideredimpracticable forBritain
merely to hand back toChina theNew Territories
alone- an outcometo whichtheChinesewere
inanycase whollyopposed.
launchedabout 25 yearsafteritsmorefamous
British counterpart,but there are clear
Both aimed to reducecentralarea
similarities.
congestion,to reduce inner-city overcrowding
and to improvehousing and environmental
conditions. Both,too,soughtto createbalanced
communities witha fullrangeof employment,
education, shopping, medical and leisure
facilities.However, there are also clear
differences. Hong Kong'snew townsgenerally
have muchlargerpopulationsand are builtat
much higherdensitiesthan those in Britain.
ManyBritish newtowns(particularly theearlier
ones) are characterisedby 'garden city'
landscapes and two-storey semi-detachedor
terracedfamily homeswithgardens.Bycontrast,
HongKong'snewtownpopulationsare housed
in massivetowerblocks.Muchof the colony's
terrainis so hillythatflatland is at a premium
and must,therefore, be used intensively It is a
measure of Hong Kong's land shortagethat
substantialareas havebeen reclaimedfromthe
sea and fromestuariesand riversin orderto
accommodatethese new estates(Fig 4). Total
reclamationfor the variousnew towns now
exceeds30 sq km.

Fig 4. Sha Tin New Town, New Territories.Photo: Brian Chalkley.

145

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 wouldhavea seriously destabilisingeffecton the
GEOGRAPHY
economy,as wellas damagingconsequencesfor
HONGKONG: Hong Kong'salreadycongestedand pressurised
COLONY ATTHE environment. Ifthisis to be avoided,and Hong
CROSSROADS Kong's existingway of life protected, the
Communistauthorities willneed to designand
enforcecarefularrangements for immigration
control.
Paradoxically,in recentyearsHongKonghas
been worrying as muchabout out-migration as
Geography©1997 in-migration. There was a particularsurge of
emigration aftertheTiananmenSquaremassacre
and giventhe manyuncertainties surrounding
Ί997', significantnumbers of business and
professionalpeople have considered moving
abroad.In an effort to restoreconfidence, theUK
government decidedin 1990to grantfullBritish
passports,withthe rightof abode in the UK, to
50 000 business people, administrators and
professionals.Together with their immediate
families,the totalnumberinvolved225 000. By
providingthis assuranceto people, that they
could leave at any time,it was hoped thatkey
personnelwould choose to stayin Hong Kong.
However,Chinaannouncedthatafter1997these
passportswouldnotbe recognised.Thisgroupof
Britishpassportholderswillnot now be able to
obtain the most senior posts in the new civil
serviceand theyfeardiscrimination: manywill
leavebeforetheChinesetakeover.
Inrecentyearstheoveralllevelofannualout-
hastypically been intheorderof60 000
migration
and manymore have tried to obtain foreign
Britainis not
passportsand failed.Interestingly,
generallythe preferreddestination:the most
favouredcountriesare Canada,Australia and the
USA. The economicconsequencesof a 'brain-
drain' have certainlycaused the Hong Kong
authoritiesconsiderableanxiety butin theshort-
termatleasttheeffects do notseemto havebeen
too serious.Despiteall thefearssurrounding the
Chinese takeover,Hong Kong's economyhas
beencontinuing togrow,albeitatrateswellbelow
thoseachievedin the1960sand 1970s.
Issues relatingto populationand migration
were,ofcourse,highon HongKong'sagendalong
beforethe Chinesetakeoverbecame imminent.
Rapiddemographic growthand successivewaves
ofimmigrants have,forexample,at varioustimes
placed serious strains on Hong Kong's
environment andinfrastructure. In theearlypost-
war periodin particular a tide of refugeesfrom
mainlandChina stretchedpublic services to
146 breaking point.The newcomers werelefttobuild
housesforthemselves and makeshift settlements
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spread over the hillsides. This chaotic
development of shanty settlements
accommodating 300 000 people led the
governmentto provide major public-sector
housing estates and later, in the 1970s, it
introduced a programme to builda seriesofnew
towns in the New Territories (Bristow,1990)
whichnow have 2.5 millionresidents(see The
New Towns). As a result,half the colony's
populationnow lives in government-provided
housing,mainlysmallflatsin towerblocks.Given
Hong Kong'sclear commitment to laissez-faire
capitalism, this large amount of public-sector
housingmayseemsurprising. However, giventhe
pressureson space, the high costs of private
accommodationand the scale of the housing
problem, the governmentfelt obliged to
intervene. Itseemsthateveninthemostcapitalist
ofeconomiesthereis a case forland-useplanning
and subsidisedhousing.Thisis one aspectoflife
in Hong Kong withwhichChina's Communist
rulersmayfeelan instinctive rapport.
The pressureson Hong Kong's land and
environmentderive not only from the high
populationdensitiesand shortageof space, but
also fromtheconsumer-orientated, 'throw-away'
As a result,waste disposal and water
lifestyle.
pollutionhavebecometwoofHongKong'smost
seriousenvironmental problems.In thepastlittle
attention was givento environmental protection
but 'green'ideas have been gainingacceptance
and the government has established an
Protection witha staff
Environmental Department
ofnearly1000.Chinahasnotbeenattheforefront
of internationalmovementsto protect the
nordoes ithaverigorousdomestic
environment,
policies and standards.There is a danger,
therefore, thatafterthe handover,even Hong
Kong'snewand fairly modestregulations willnot
be enforced.There are concerns that Hong
Kong'sfledgling 'green'movementis unlikely to
receivea sympathetic responsefromthecolony's
new rulers.The anxietiesoutlinedearlierabout
the possibleeconomicand politicalimplications
of' 1997'are,therefore, mirrored byworriesabout
itsecologicalconsequences.
Synopsis
Notwithstandingtheimportance ofHong Kong's
environmentalproblems, colony'suncertain
the
futurewillbe shaped primarily by a mixtureof
economicsand politics.The optimistsarguethat
its new rulerswill not wish to jeopardisethe
wealth-creating machinery ofwhatwillbe byfar Unfortunately, China's determination visiblyto
China'srichestcity.Theysuggestthatwhatreally exerciseits politicalsovereignty could stillplace GEOGRAPHY
matters to thepeople ofHongKongis prosperity Hong Kong'seconomyat riskand such political HONGKONG:
and thata reduction in personalliberties,suchas considerationscontinue to cast a shadow of ATTHE
COLONY
freespeech,need not put at riskHong Kong's uncertainty overitsfuture. CROSSROADS
capacityto makemoney.SeveralAsiancountries,
notleastSingapore, haveprosperedeconomically
withoutWesternlevels of politicalfreedom.It References
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In principle,Chinahas muchto gain from
seekingto ensureHong Kong'sstability and its
continuedeconomicsuccess.HongKongis a key
sourceof foreigncurrency, a majorgeneratorof Dr Β. Chalkleyis a Lecturerin the Departmentof
employment in adjacentpartsofsouthernChina, Geographical Sciences, Universityof Plymouth,
a magnetforoverseasinvestorsand a pointof Drake Circus,Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA.Tel: 01752 147
commercialcontact with the outside world. 233077.

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