Hong Kong: The Progress of Asia’s World City

Hong Kong proves that people adapt and thrive when left to organize independently.

Landry Ayres
Senior Producer

Landry Ayres is senior producer at Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org. He has produced Free Thoughts, Building Tomorrow, The Pursuit, Portraits of Liberty, and co-​hosted Pop & Locke. He also is the producer of the Cato Institute’s Power Problems and Unintended Consequences podcasts. He received his BA in communication with a concentration in media production and criticism, as well as his MA in health communication, from George Mason University. He has produced audio for Audible, SXSW, and WNYC’s Radiolab.

Chelsea Follett

Chelsea Follett is the Managing Editor of Human​Progress​.org, a project of the Cato Institute which seeks to educate the public on the global improvements in well-​being by providing free empirical data on long-​term developments. Her writing has been published in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Newsweek, Forbes, The Hill, The Washington Examiner and Global Policy Journal. She was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for 2018 in the category of Law and Policy. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Government and English from the College of William & Mary, as well as a Master of Arts degree in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia, where she focused on international relations and political theory.

SUMMARY:

Hong Kong’s history demonstrates the benefits of an independent and autonomous society. But how did a place once called “the barren island” become one of the world’s most prosperous and successful cities?

Chinese imperialism, British colonialism, and a special degree of autonomy have all impacted the development of Hong Kong—but none have benefitted it more than the hands-​off approach that began in the 1960’s.

Unfortunately, the liberties that galvanized Hong Kong’s skyrocketing progress are under attack. A crackdown on free speech and a criminalization of dissent have sent the population into a scramble to hold on to their freedom—but there is hope.

For more, check out Chelsea Follett’s new book Centers of Progress: 40 Cities That Changed the World.

Transcript

Hong Kong: one of the most densely populated territories in the world. It has a higher average life expectancy than any nation on the planet. It sits between cultures, straddling East and West, blending them into an exemplar of modern, globalized society. But as Chelsea Follett explains in her new book, Centers of Progress, it wasn’t always like this.

Hong Kong has been inhabited, albeit sparsely, since the Paleolithic era. In 221 BCE, it was incorporated into Imperial China during the Qin Dynasty. Considered an out-​of-​the-​way port town, it saw its first immigration boom during the Mongol conquest of the 13th century, as loyalists to the empire sought refuge far from conflict. The coastal location drove the city to embrace maritime activities like fishing, salt harvesting, and shipping as primary economic practices.

Hong Kong remained a relatively small city until the final era of imperial China, the Qing Dynasty, when international trade increased dramatically. British consumers had appetites for Chinese silk, porcelain, and tea, and the British state was willing to get its hands dirty to acquire them. To that end, opium produced in the British-​controlled Indian province of Bengal flooded the Chinese market, fueling an epidemic of addiction. The Chinese government wanted the British and their opium out. This conflict eventually erupted into the First Opium War, which ended with the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. The treaty stipulated that China would cede Hong Kong to Britain.

The area ceded was expanded multiple times over the course of the 19th century. By 1898, Britain controlled not just Hong Kong Island, but also the entire Kowloon Peninsula, and the New Territories, but agreed to hand the region back to China after a period of 99 years, further cementing the reach of the now global empire.

The establishment of a new shipping hub, in conjunction with environmental and political events, caused an increase in immigration to Hong Kong during the 20th century. It began to rapidly expand and industrialize, and faced all the effects of such, good and bad. Disease, social unrest, and struggles with British colonial power spread as more and more people moved into improvised shanty towns. During the tumultuous Chinese Rebellion of 1911 and a violent period of Japanese occupation during the Second World War, Hong Kong earned the nickname “the barren island.”

However, despite changing hands from Chinese imperialism to British colonialism, there was hope. While the people of Hong Kong still lacked certain freedoms, such as direct elections, and lived under a heavily corrupted police force, change was coming. In 1940s and 50s, local control of the Urban Council was slowly expanded, and in the 1960s, the policy of “positive non-​interventionism” was adopted. Spearheaded by then-​Financial Secretary of Hong Kong John Cowperthwaite, positive non-​interventionism was the principal that, as Cowperthwaite put it, the “aggregate of decisions of individual businessmen, exercising individual judgment in a free economy,” in the long run, would be more beneficial “than the centralized decisions of a government.”

Unlike the Cultural Revolution taking place just over the border in the People’s Republic of China, positive non-​interventionism was a tremendous boon to Hong Kong’s economy. The new liberties given to Hongkongers allowed the city to further industrialize. Manufacturing became the new dominant industry, and “made in Hong Kong” became a sign of high-​quality goods. On the foundation provided by positive non-​interventionism, Hong-​Kongers had built their city into an economic powerhouse and a shining exemplar of the power of liberty to unleash human flourishing.

However, with the 99 year deadline steadily approaching— and with it, the prospect of Chinese Communist Party rule— Hong Kong’s future was uncertain. Then, in 1984, with only thirteen years left under the agreement’s terms, something changed. The People’s Republic of China and UK signed the Sino-​British Joint Declaration, which established that upon Hong Kong’s return to China, it would be considered a “special administrative region.” The terms promised the preservation of Hong Kong’s autonomy in most areas of governance until 2047, even going so far as to ensure the practice of a “one country, two systems” policy allowing for the practice of capitalism rather than reverting to “socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

Between the evening of June 30 and morning of July 1, 1997, The United Kingdom officially handed over control of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China. During the formal ceremony, the Union Jack was lowered to the tune of “God Save the Queen,” and for the following 12 seconds, those in attendance stood in silence, as neither the UK nor Chinese flag flew. For those 12 seconds, we saw a glimpse of what a truly independent Hong Kong might look like, before the “March of the Volunteers” began to play and the Five-​Star red flag was hoisted to the top of the pole.

Today, while Hong Kong is China’s sovereign territory, it is so much more than that. It is a city of the world, one with a global citizenry and a reach far beyond its borders. It is a hub for finance and commerce and home to numerous innovative, high tech multinational firms. But that doesn’t mean all is well.

In 2019, a proposed bill would have legalized the extradition of criminals from Hong Kong to mainland China, severely weakening the autonomy of Hong Kong’s legal system and likely allowing for the seizure of political prisoners. The response from Hongkongers was swift, organized, and decentralized. Peaceful protestors flooded the streets, met by sophisticated surveillance technology and riot police unafraid to use violence to quell the pushback.

But the protestors didn’t give up. They devised clever means of disarming tear gas and circumventing the watchful eyes of the state, including the use of lasers, umbrellas, traffic cones, and quickly mobile crowds to evade imprisonment. Only after the world heard millions cry out in resistance was the bill withdrawn—but soon after, a new National Security Law was passed, one with even more drastic criminalization of dissent. The autonomy and liberty which contributed to Hong Kong’s remarkable progress seems now to be under increasing threat.

While it may be challenging to have hope in the face of such draconian power, Hong Kong proves that people will adapt and thrive when left to organize independently. They illustrate the amazing potential of cities across the world where people can come together, all seeking different things, and find ways to pursue their interests together.

This month, in celebration of Chelsea Follett’s new book, Centers of Progress, Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org will be focusing on the places and people that stand as a testament to the role freedom plays in advancing the human condition. We’ll be publishing brand new articles, podcasts, and more to illuminate the stories of those who have achieved and advocated for true progress, a moving forward for all people in the way of their choosing. To find out more, visit us at Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org.