No Third Person. Rewritting the Hong Kong Story

British Hong Kong had a good story in the run-up to 1997. Its people worked hard and had an indomitable spirit. China had its own story about Hong Kong: after reunification, the city would nprosper as never before due to China’s wise and pragmatic ¨one country, two systems¨ policy.

Hong Kong people and the world bought those stories. But now it is clear that the British version of the Hong Kong story no longer holds while Hong Kong people are not so sure about themselves and their future seems less bright. The city and its people are stuck—they have no compelling narrative that joins the past and the future.

This book is based on our thoughts of what a new Hong Kong story might be: a story about ¨us¨ and ¨you¨, the people who care about Hong Kong, not an impersonal ¨he/she/it¨ story—a story, moreover, to be worked out between Hong Kong and mainland China and no one else.

Christine Loh Kung-wai has served Hong Kong in the public, NGO and educational sectors for more than three decades, most recently as Hong Kong Undersecretary for the Environment.

Richard Cullen is a Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong.

Available 1 October 2018 from Abbreviated Press.