Sovereignty In China

This book provides a comprehensive history of the emergence and the formation of the concept of sovereignty in China from the year 1840 to the present. It contributes to broadening the history of modern China by looking at the way the notion of sovereignty was gradually articulated by key Chinese intellectuals, diplomats and political figures in the unfolding of the history of international law in China, rehabilitates Chinese agency, and shows how China challenged Western Eurocentric assumptions about the progress of international law. It puts the history of international law in a global perspective, interrogating the widely-held belief of international law as universal order and exploring the ways in which its history is closely anchored to a European experience that fails to take into account how the encounter with other non-European realities has influenced its formation.

Is China always defensive about its sovereignty issues? Does China see sovereignty essentially as 'absolute,' 'Victorian,' or 'Westphalian?' Sow Keat Tok suggests that Beijing has a more nuanced and flexible policy towards 'sovereignty' than previously assumed. By comparing China's changing policy towards Taiwan and Hong Kong, the author relates the role of previous conceptions of the world order in China's conception of modern 'sovereignty', thereby uncovers Beijing's deepest concern when dealing with its sovereignty issues.

In China, State Sovereignty and International Legal Order, Phil C.W. Chan explores the nexus between China’s exercise of State sovereignty and international legal order, and the locus in which State sovereignty resides in international law and foreign policy-making.

This paperback reader provides the student and general reader with easy access to the major issues of the Hong Kong transition crisis. Contributors include both editors, as well as Frank Ching, Berry F. Hsu, Reginald Yin-wang Kwok, Peter Kwong, Julian Y.M. Leung, Ronald Skeldon, Alvin Y. So, Yun-wing Sung, and James T.H. Tang - the majority of whom live and work in Hong Kong and experience the transition firsthand, personally and professionally.

This is the first systematic analysis of the constitutional, legal, economic, social and political systems of Hong Kong as a special administrative region of China. It examines the Basic Law against its historical and socio-economic contexts, including its international and domestic foundations, and the loss and the resumption of sovereignty by China. The author offers a conceptualization of the Basic Law and locates it within China's constitutional, political and legal systems. The book explores the balance as well as the tensions between the autonomy of Hong Kong and the sovereignty of China, which are aggravated by the necessity to accommodate contrasting economic and political systems. It also identifies key legal and political problems that are likely to arise in implementing the Basic Law and suggests an approach to its interpretation. The Basic Law provides a fascinating example of the interaction of widely different traditions of law, politics and economy, and a novel system of autonomy. Its study is therefore of great interest to scholars of comparative law and politics. This new edition covers significant political, constitutional and legal developments since the transfer of sovereignty in July 1997.

The concept of sovereignty -- Sovereignty in ancient China -- The emergence of modern sovereignty in the Late Qing Dynasty -- Nationalism in China -- Sovereignty and human rights in China -- China's contemporary perspective of sovereignty.

Kevin Lane discusses the tension existed between China's traditional claim to sovereignty over Hong Kong. He believes that on historical track record China has the capacity for flexibility on Hong Kong that would enable arrangements about its future to work successfully.

Is China always defensive about its sovereignty issues? Does China see sovereignty essentially as 'absolute,' 'Victorian,' or 'Westphalian?' Sow Keat Tok suggests that Beijing has a more nuanced and flexible policy towards 'sovereignty' than previously assumed. By comparing China's changing policy towards Taiwan and Hong Kong, the author relates the role of previous conceptions of the world order in China's conception of modern 'sovereignty', thereby uncovers Beijing's deepest concern when dealing with its sovereignty issues.