ABSTRACT
Regarding the future of Hong Kong, Britain and China have created new contradictions for a new age. While the 1990s have become known as the decade of democracy in the world, Britain has willingly arranged for the recovery of sovereignty over Hong Kong by an authoritarian government, without the consent of the nearly six million people living in the territory. It may be too much to expect more from a colonial power, especially one that never practiced any form of genuine popular democracy in Hong Kong. Also, China has not been very successful in bolstering the confidence of the Hong Kong people, especially with its handling of student movements and its own turbulent domestic politics. Contrary to events in Eastern Europe, where socialist societies are taking on the trappings of capitalism, Hong Kong is impelled to accommodate to a socialist government. There is a similarity in that the former societies are working to situate themselves closer to the West without necessarily becoming capitalist, while Hong Kong is working to position itself closer to China without becoming socialist. In 1997, the British will retreat from their colony, after a period that saw the Hong Kong territoiy grow from a desolate outpost in the South China Sea to one of the world’s largest financial and commercial centers. As Hong Kong confronts an uncertain future, its education system is attempting to position itself within the transitional process leading to the recovery of sovereignty by China. Education is expected to play a part in cementing the reunification. New educational reforms have the potential to act as vehicles for negotiating social transition processes, as well as instruments for resisting decolonization.
