ABSTRACT
Hong Kong’s success is legendary. After a meager start as a British crown colony established on fishing villages of nearly barren rock in 1842—part of the spoils of victory from the Opium War—Hong Kong has become a cosmopolitan city-state of global significance. Though it ranks nintieth in terms of population, it is the world’s eighth largest trading economy, with a per capita income higher than some developed countries including Britain, its colonial master. With eighty-five of the world’s top one hundred banks, it is one of the five international financial centers. Hong Kong’s miracle economy has made it one of the Four Little Dragons of East Asia, a title shared with Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Finally, Hong Kong is the undisputed gateway to China, which is Hong Kong’s largest trading partner (Hong Kong is China’s second largest trading partner after Japan). Hong Kong serves as a powerful catalyst for the economic development of South China, where Hong Kong companies employ over three million workers in neighboring Guangdong Province alone. Thus, it is natural that most Hong Kong people see their future as inextricably linked to China’s economic growth and political modernization.
