ABSTRACT
The path along which the Qing Empire transformed into the People’s Republic of China as a modern nation-state is perhaps the most peculiar in the world history of nation formation. China’s transition from empire to nation is far from complete and uncontested, as the allegiance of the nation’s periphery to the center is not always warranted. British colonization of today’s Hong Kong region began in the aftermath of the Opium War of 1839–42. While the colonial administrators and British capitalists, who thrived on Hong Kong’s finance and entrepot trade, coalesced to form a close-knitted network of ruling elite, the colonial government was also active in co-opting the Chinese business elite, who mostly originated as contractors and compradors of British merchant houses, by offering them honorary titles and appointed seats in government decision-making bodies. The conflict between the two blocs climaxed in the aftermath of China’s failed democratic movement in spring 1989.
