East Asian Scholar Discusses Hong Kong’s Transformation in Lawrence Lecture

Ming Chan, a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, discusses Hong Kong’s transformative experience from British colonial rule to special administration region of China in a Lawrence University address. Chan presents “The Making of China’s Hong Kong: Post-Colonial Crisis and Transformation” Thursday, May 13 at 4:30 p.m. in Main Hall, Room 201. A former member of the University of Hong Kong history department, Chan will focus on two major problems that have plagued Hong Kong since it returned to China’s jurisdiction on July 1, 1997: a prolonged economic downturn and problematic governance. Economically, Hong Kong is experiencing high unemployment (7.2%), deflation that has dragged on for 60 straight months and rising budget deficits aren’t expected to be balanced until at least 2009. Politically, C.H. Tung, the chief executive Beijing handpicked to oversee Hong Kong, has been criticized for his too-much, too-soon, all-at-once approach to reform. His attempt to enact a Beijing-desired national security law resulted in a protest march by more than half a million people last July and produced widespread calls for direct elections. Last month, Beijing preemptively vetoed any meaningful electoral reforms for Hong Kong until at least 2012, signaling a drastic departure from its previous non-interference stance to uphold Hong Kong’s autonomy. Chan, the coordinator of the Hong Kong Documentary Archives at the Hoover Institution, is the author or editor of 10 books, including 2002′s “Crisis and Transformation in China’s Hong Kong” and “The Challenge of Hong Kong’s Reintegration with China.” He earned his Ph.D. in East Asian history from Stanford. Chan’s appearance is sponsored by the Henry M. Luce Foundation and the government and economic departments at Lawrence