ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the rise of the centre-periphery cleavage resulting from the dynamic shift of the contradictions between the British government, the Chinese government, and the Hong Kong people in the context of the reversion of sovereignty and the political reforms of the 1980s. It also examines the conflicts and compromises of China and Britain in settling the question of Hong Kong, and the responses from the Hong Kong people towards the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The chapter explores the rivalry of various political forces over the pace of democratic reforms in the political reforms debates since the mid-1980s. It also explores the clash of the democrats with the Chinese government and the conservatives in the Basic Law drafting process will be used to demonstrate the rise of the centre-periphery cleavage. The Chinese government, whether the Communists or the Kuomintang, had never given up its sovereign claim over Hong Kong.
