ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the first half of the transition period, from 1984 until 1989. This period saw, for the first time in Hong Kong's history, a committed attempt by the Hong Kong administration to create channels for political communication between the state and the nation. The chapter also examines the development of modern politics in Hong Kong. It focuses on the controlled liberalisation which occurred between 1984 and 1989. This period begins with the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, in 1984, which signalled the start of the transition period and ends with Tiananmen which heralded a sea-change in the scope of the liberalising reforms. In response to the liberals' claims of not being fully committed to political reform, moderates reinforced the message that the desired speed of the liberals' reforms would not be in Hong Kong's interest. Chinese opinion on the political reforms and the elections in the territory was divided between their public response and their private communications.
