Hong Kong in Turmoil: Defining the Contours of Sovereignty in China Today

Allen Carlson, Associate Professor, Cornell University
Ja-Ian Chong, Associate Professor, National University of Singapore
Victoria Tin-bor Hui, Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame

Moderated by:

Maria Adele Carrai, Associate Research Scholar, Weatherhead East Asian Institute; Marie Curie Fellow, KU Leuven School of Law

The current turmoil in Hong Kong and the tension between Chinese Central Government and the ex-British colony have to do with the definition of sovereignty. The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong occurred at midnight on 1 July 1997, when the United Kingdom ended administration for the colony of Hong Kong and returned control of the territory to China. However, the sovereignty question started well before, with the Treaty of Nanjing of 1842 that forced China to cede Hong Kong to Great Britain and that gave rise to the system of unequal treaties. Ever since a quest for sovereignty has characterized the modern history of China up to this very present. By bringing together leading scholars that have written about sovereignty in China, the Roundtable aims at stimulating discussion and reflection about the legacies of history and the use and understanding of sovereignty in China today, with particular reference to Hong Kong.

This event is organized by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and co-sponsored by the Columbia-Harvard China and the World Program and the European Institute at Columbia University.