Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines a number of important periods of civil unrest and social movements in Hong Kong through the lens of law and order and from the historical and cultural perspectives. It highlights the cultural meanings of, and power structure behind, these movements over the past hundred years of Hong Kong's history. The book describes the law as a historical and cultural process whereby the different parties involved in social movements assert and justify their desired social, economic and political order over time. It explains the prevailing image of the Hong Kong people as politically apathetic and of Hong Kong prospering because of its relative political stability portrayed in previous scholarship. The book provides an important contribution by analysing issues of governance and law and order from interdisciplinary perspectives.