UGEC2945 History of Hong Kong

This course introduces the history of Hong Kong from a British colony to the Special Administrative Region of China. It covers major events and issues of Hong Kong, emphasizing the development of political system, social structure and economic pattern, and evaluate the role of Hong Kong in modern China, in the Asian-Pacific region and in the world. The course critically examines how colonial governance and Sino-British relations affected Hong Kong, offering students a multi-perspective in understanding how Hong Kong has become what it is today. This course is relevant to three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in the area of SDG#8 Decent Work and Economic Growth by looking at the development of Hong Kong from an entrepôt to a global financial centre, SDG#10 Reduced Inequalities by looking at how Hong Kong evolved from a society of racial segregation to social inclusiveness, and SDG#16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions by looking at the public policy in promoting social reform and social justice.

Part I – Hong Kong: From the Opium War to the Second World War

(1) Opium War and the Opening of Hong Kong (4 September 2023)
(2) The Early Development and Colonial Setting (11 September 2023)
(3) State and Society in Colonial Hong Kong (18 September 2023)
(4) Hong Kong in the Interwar Period (25 September 2023)
Holiday – The Day Following National Day (2 October 2023)
(5) The Battle of Hong Kong and the Japanese Occupation (9 October 2023)

Part II – Post-war Hong Kong
(6) Post-war Hong Kong: Socio-political Development (16 October 2023)
Holiday – Chung Yeung Festival
(7) Post-war Hong Kong: Economic Takeoff (30 October 2023)
(8) Unrest and Crisis: Hong Kong in the 1960s (6 November 2023)
(9) The MacLehose Years (13 November 2023)
(10) Sino-British Negotiation and the Joint Declaration (20 November 2023)
(11) Towards 1997: Hong Kong in the Transitional Period (27 November 2023)

Quiz 30%
Final Paper 70%

A detailed reference list will be available in the first lecture.

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.

With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.

• In the case of group projects, all members of the group should be asked to sign the declaration, each of whom is responsible and liable to disciplinary actions, irrespective of whether he/she has signed the declaration and whether he/she has contributed, directly or indirectly, to the problematic contents.
• For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based and submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon students’ uploading of the soft copy of the assignment.

Assignments without the properly signed declaration will not be graded by teachers.

Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.

The submission of a piece of work, or a part of a piece of work, for more than one purpose (e.g. to satisfy the requirements in two different courses) without declaration to this effect shall be regarded as having committed undeclared multiple submissions. It is common and acceptable to reuse a turn of phrase or a sentence or two from one’s own work; but wholesale reuse is problematic. In any case, agreement from the course teacher(s) concerned should be obtained prior to the submission of the piece of work.