Law and Racism in an Asian Setting: An Analysis of the Britsh Rule of Hong Kong

Authors

Richard Klein

Abstract

In 1997, the British government will cede control of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. This Article examines the history of the British governance of Hong Kong, focusing on the prevalent use of British laws to exclude the Chinese citizens of Hong Kong from equal participation and status in the Hong Kong government and to retain control of Hong Kong in the hands of a privileged British minority. The Article details the ways in which the Chinese were treated in a discriminatory fashion in the British governance of Hong Kong and reveals the racist attitudes of many of the British leaders who held authority throughout the history of Hong Kong. The Article concludes that the Chinese in Hong Kong never really did experience democracy, equality, or independence, and now apparently never will.

Recommended Citation

Richard Klein, Law and Racism in an Asian Setting: An Analysis of the Britsh Rule of Hong Kong, 18 Hastings Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 223 (1995).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_international_comparative_law_review/vol18/iss2/1