ABSTRACT
The history of Hong Kong has much in common with that of Singapore. Both city-states originate in the colonial history of the British Empire, which gave them similar institutions. Both were captured by the Japanese in World War II and afterwards slowly decolonized. However, while Singapore became independent, because of Hong Kong's peculiar relationship with the Chinese motherland, due to an "unequal" treaty forced on the Chinese by the British in 1842 and the land lease of 1898, as well as rising nationalist sentiments, the city-state could not become independent. Instead, the British government opted for significant autonomy of its colony, which led to self-sufficiency. Another similarity was the economic modernization of the two city-states, which often pitted them against each other as economic rivals (Jao 1997). At the same time, it provided opportunities for a rising opposition movement that was an outgrowth of the increasing complexity of the state. However, there are significant deferences in the economic transformation. While Hong Kong's laissez-faire policy and fortuitous historical events helped to propel the economy, the Singaporean leaders' emphasis on the developmental state closely guided the economy. Finally, a correlation can be made between the 1966/67 riots in Hong Kong and communal and Communist riots in Singapore during the 1950s and early 1960s. These events made it necessary to deal with contentious politics, which often meant co-opting critics into government institutions and also legitimized the use of coercion against more threatening opponents.
