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Rule of law is a core Hong Kong value, providing a defensive wall around the territory and protecting its way of life against 'mainlandisation'. Before the 1997 retrocession to China, fears were widespread that the rights and freedoms enjoyed under colonial rule would be eroded, that the rule of law would be weakened and that corruption would increase. Soon, the first blows were struck against the rule of law via an NPCSC ruling which overturned the judgment of the Court of Final Appeal. Successive interventions by Beijing in Hong Kong's legal and political affairs have given rise to fears about the loss of the rule of law and loss of identity. These fears have subsequently provoked mass street demonstrations, including the 'Umbrella Revolution' of 2014. But, as this book shows, Hong Kongers also use less explicit arts of resistance to maintain their identity.
List of contents
Introduction: the lie of the land; 1. Walls of law; 2. The transition: fears and fantasies; 3. Danger, death and disappearance; 4. The disappearance of Yu Man Hon; 5. Patrolling the walls of law; 6. The law wars - wayward children and the right of abode cases; 7. The law wars - the flag cases; 8. The law wars - Article 23 and the 1 July 2003 march; 9. The law wars - law as politics, politics as law; 10. The law wars - law and civil society; 11. The law wars - interpreting the law; 12. The culture wars - globalism, nationalism and localism; 13. The culture wars - creating the nation; 14. The culture wars - education and the cultivation of identity; 15. The culture wars - history, identity and the nostalgia boom; 16. The culture wars - freedom of the press; 17. Conclusion: lost and found.
About the author
Carol Jones taught at universities in Hong Kong from 1990 to 2002, and remains involved academically there. She has written extensively about the role of law in Hong Kong's history and society, and she has a particular interest in how ideas about the law have shaped and been shaped by Hong Kong's colonial and postcolonial development.
Summary
The 2014 'Umbrella Revolution' in Hong Kong saw hundreds of thousands of demonstrators on the streets, the culmination of rising fears and frustrations about the loss of Hong Kong's core values – principally the rule of law – since 1997. Carol Jones examines how and why this resistance arose.
