Hong Kong's international status

• Main Author: TANG, Tuck Hong James
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 1993
• Subjects: Asian Studies; International and Area Studies
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2237; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/3494/viewcontent/Hong_Kong_s_international_status.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Characterizing Hong Kong's international status can be a hazardous endeavour.As a British colony and not a sovereign state, the territory has not been seen asan independent actor on the international stage. Attempts to identify theterritory's status have been further complicated by the 1984 Sino-British agreementto transfer Hong Kong's sovereignty from Britain to China in 1997. WhenHong Kong becomes a Special Administrative Region (SAR) with a 'highdegree of autonomy' under Chinese sovereignty after 1997, it will continue to bea non-sovereign territorial entity in international terms. Nonetheless, under the'one country; two systems' formula it has been granted extensive authority andpower in its internal governance, and the scope of autonomy in its externalrelations as agreed upon between the British and Chinese governments isextensive.