Dynamics of Beijing–Hong Kong Relations – A Model for Taiwan?

Sonny Shiu-Hing Lo is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He formerly taught Hong Kong politics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (1993-1996) and at the University of Hong Kong (1996-2004). His single-authored books include The Politics of Democratization in Hong Kong, Political Development in Macau, and Governing Hong Kong: Legitimacy, Communication and Political Decay. His new books are The Politics of Cross-Border Crime in Greater China, and Political Change in Macao.

This splendid book offers a vivid analytical delineation of the multi-faceted PRC central authorities of Hong Kong SAR interactive dynamics under the 'one country, two systems' formula. Illuminating this problematic center-region relationship with detailed case studies, Professor Lo's insightful work highlights the potentials as well as the limitations of this formula as actualized in Hong Kong to facilitate cross-Strait detente toward Beijing's much-cherished peaceful unification with Taiwan. Keen observers of Greater China development will benefit much from his masterful evaluation of the HKSAR experience's larger external strategic implications. -- Ming K. Chan, Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University