{"id":17967,"date":"2018-06-07T11:00:55","date_gmt":"2018-06-07T18:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=17967"},"modified":"2018-06-07T11:00:55","modified_gmt":"2018-06-07T18:00:55","slug":"long-shadow-of-the-union-jack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/long-shadow-of-the-union-jack\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Shadow of the Union Jack"},"content":{"rendered":"

In both style and substance, Steve Tsang\u2019s in depth work,\u00a0A Modern History of Hong Kong\u00a0<\/em>is well worth the read.\u00a0 Surveying the history of Hong Kong from 1842 with its founding as a \u201cCrown Colony\u201d in the aftermath of the First Anglo-Chinese War (also known as \u201cThe First Opium War\u201d), Tsang traces the development of the place, its people, and especially its relationships with the outside world.<\/p>\n

Many of the broad brush stroke events and names will be familiar to a general audience of history readers.\u00a0 The way the British colonial empire operated through the East India Company to establish trading relationships and monopolies around the world.\u00a0 The way the Empire then backed up those mercantilist claims with militaristic might.\u00a0 The way that, through pressure, threats and outright war, the Empire laid claim to far flung territories around the globe.<\/p>\n

This was the case with Hong Kong, which, the then-British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston described as, \u201ca barren island with hardly a house upon it\u201d<\/a>[1]when the British took possession of it. \u00a0What becomes clear throughout this book is that it is impossible to untangle the history of Hong Kong from the presence and involvement of the British.\u00a0 The very characteristics of the place and its people are formed through the ongoing encounters with the outside world, specifically the British Empire.<\/p>\n

Tsang explains that, \u201cBritish rule\u2026 led to the rise of a people that remains quintessentially Chinese and yet share a way of life, core values and an outlook that resemble at least as much, if not more, that of the average New Yorker or Londoner, rather than that of their compatriots in China.\u00a0 The modern history of Hong Kong must therefore address how the residents of Hong Kong came of age as a people with a common identity and shared worldview.\u201d<\/a>[2]<\/p>\n

Part of the critical response to this book has focused on this idea of what it actually means to write a \u201cmodern history of Hong Kong\u201d.\u00a0 Danny Yee points that that, \u201cdespite publication in 2004 and the \u201cmodern\u201d in the title, there\u2019s no coverage of the post-1997 period, of Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of China.\u201d<\/a>[3]<\/p>\n

Another reviewer adds that, \u201cinsofar as it spans a time frame that historians call modern, it is without doubt a modern history, but it should be called more precisely a history of British Hong Kong.\u201d<\/a>[4]\u00a0 Here, the question is about perspective and the personal location of the author, as a Hong Kong resident, of Chinese background and British training. Tsang makes a claim near the end of his book that the only way to assess the legacies that the British have bequeathed is through the prism of personal experience nad perspective.\u00a0 Indeed, this history looks very different to a mainland Chinese Communist party official, or a Foreign Secretary in an office in London, or, for Tsang as \u201can academic historian of the British liberal tradition who grew up in Hong Kong and witnessed first-hand its transformation from the 1960\u2019s.\u201d<\/a>[5]<\/p>\n

Throughout the book, Tsang offers both the positive and negative aspects of British colonial rule as it affected the development and history of Hong Kong.\u00a0 He writes glowingly that, \u201cthe greatest contribution of British rule in this regard was to provide the political framework and social stability that enabled Hong Kong\u2019s economy to flourish.\u201d<\/a>[6]\u00a0 He himself is a beneficiary of this system, and the opportunities that it has afforded to many of those involved.\u00a0 At the same time, he describes a kind of \u201cbenevolent paternalism\u201d and even \u201cimplicit racism\u201d that was always present during colonial times.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government in Hong Kong, like colonial governments elsewhere in the British Empire, generally did not bother to legislate to discriminate against the colonial subjects because it was unnecessary.\u201d<\/a>[7]\u00a0 The racial\/ethnic dynamics of Hong Kong paralleled the class-consciousness of the British, Chinese and other groups (Parses, Portuguese and Indians).\u00a0 This meant that there was much de facto<\/em> segregation rather than de jure<\/em>, as it was the British who sent the overall tone and context for life in Hong Kong, and the population had to adapt and operate within it.<\/p>\n

It is clear that Tsang has much appreciation and respect for the unique history of his city.\u00a0 For this reason Chun reflects that Tsang, \u201cprefers to avoid in any serious way\u201d<\/a>[8], a focus on imperialism or colonialism, even though it is the larger context around this place and its people.<\/p>\n

In the end, this book is a detail packed, well-researched and well-written history.\u00a0 The larger scope of events is made clear and the author makes good use of primary sources as well as contemporary accounts (like newspaper articles) to bring the story to life.\u00a0 The \u201cmodern history of Hong Kong\u201d is still being written, as 20 years have now passed since the handover from British control.<\/p>\n

It seems that, if the past is any directional indicator for the future, Hong Kong will continue to be marked by the forces of international business, the interchange between China and the West, and the striving for quality of life and rule of law amidst a changing environment.\u00a0 It is a fascinating place to read about, and even more so, to visit.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[1]Steve Tsang,\u00a0a Modern History of Hong Kong<\/em>\u00a0(London: I.B. Tauris, 2007), 14.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[2]\u00a0 Steve Tsang,\u00a0a Modern History of Hong Kong<\/em>\u00a0(London: I.B. Tauris, 2007), ix.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[3]Danny Yee, \u201ca Modern History of Hong Kong Steve Tsang,\u201d http:\/\/dannyreviews.com\/, accessed June 7, 2018,\u00a0http:\/\/dannyreviews.com\/h\/Hong_Kong.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[4]Allen Chun, review of\u00a0a Modern History of Hong Kong<\/em>, by Steve Tsang,\u00a0East Asia: An International Quarterly<\/em>(January, 2006): 86-88,\u00a0https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/322355046_Book_Review_of_Steve_Tsang_A_Modern_History_of_Hong_Kong_1841-1997_2004<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[5]Steve Tsang,\u00a0a Modern History of Hong Kong<\/em>\u00a0(London: I.B. Tauris, 2007), 274.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[6]Steve Tsang,\u00a0a Modern History of Hong Kong<\/em>\u00a0(London: I.B. Tauris, 2007), 274.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[7]Steve Tsang,\u00a0a Modern History of Hong Kong<\/em>\u00a0(London: I.B. Tauris, 2007), 62.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[8]Allen Chun, review of\u00a0a Modern History of Hong Kong<\/em>, by Steve Tsang,\u00a0East Asia: An International Quarterly<\/em>(January, 2006): 86-88,\u00a0https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/322355046_Book_Review_of_Steve_Tsang_A_Modern_History_of_Hong_Kong_1841-1997_2004<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In both style and substance, Steve Tsang\u2019s in depth work,\u00a0A Modern History of Hong Kong\u00a0is well worth the read.\u00a0 Surveying the history of Hong Kong from 1842 with its founding as a \u201cCrown Colony\u201d in the aftermath of the First Anglo-Chinese War (also known as \u201cThe First Opium War\u201d), Tsang traces the development of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1290],"class_list":["post-17967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-steve-tsang","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17967"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17968,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17967\/revisions\/17968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}