The York Centre for Asian Research is pleased to host the Fourth Bernard H. K. Luk Memorial Lecture in Hong Kong Studies in June 2021 as well as three panels inquiring how Hong Kong as a “distinct society” culturally, politically and economically can sustain moving forward within geographical Hong Kong and beyond.
*For details, please click on the specific title below to jump to the individual event pages for each event.
Chinese State Capitalism and its Discontents in Hong Kong with Ho-fung Hung, Johns Hopkins University
Tuesday, 8 June 2021 | 10:00 to 12:00 EDT / 22:00 to 00:00 HKT
Hong Kong’s political crisis today has been in the making for years, and it originates from the contradictions of the “One Country, Two Systems” arrangement. Hong Kong and mainland China have been two independent members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) with different terms of membership. While China’s financial system is still semi-closed to the world, Hong Kong’s financial system is fully open. The US and other developed countries treat Hong Kong as a separate entity on export, investment and immigration control, offering Hong Kong-based companies free access to their market and technology, conditional upon the international recognition of Hong Kong’s autonomy from Beijing. This lures Chinese state companies to use Hong Kong as an offshore platform or springboard for capitalization, outward investment, RMB internationalization, and importation of sensitive technologies from Western countries. This results in the expansion of political influences of Chinese state companies and elites in Hong Kong, eroding Hong Kong’s autonomy and precipitating a social and political backlash, long before the 2047 expiration date of the One Country, Two Systems.
Symposium: Hong Kong Beyond Hong Kong
Upon the fast-changing political economy environment of Hong Kong since the passing of the national security law, the Hong Kong Beyond Hong Kong symposium inquires how Hong Kong as a “distinct society” culturally, politically and economically could sustain moving forward within geographical Hong Kong and beyond. Invited panel speakers will explore new forms of contentious politics in alternative spaces, new visions and discourses in Hong Kong Studies, and the implication of the Hong Kong experience for Canada and the wider world.
Panel 1: Resistance and Contention: Identities, Connections, and Power
Thursday, 10 June 2021 | 20:00 to 22:00 EDT
Friday, 11 June 2021 | 08:00 to 10:00 HKT
Panel 2: “Studying Hong Kong: The National Security Law and Beyond” Roundtable Conversation
Tuesday, 15 June 2021 | 20:00 to 22:00 EDT
Wednesday, 16 June 2021 | 08:00 to 10:00 HKT
Panel 3: Hong Kong-Canada Relationships
Thursday, 17 June 2021 | 14:00 to 16:00 EDT / 11:00 to 13:00 PDT
A beloved teacher and colleague, Professor Bernard H. K. Luk (1946–2016) was an internationally recognized authority on the history of Hong Kong. Endowed by Professor Luk’s friend and former student, the Honourable Dr Vivienne Poy, the Bernard H. K. Luk Memorial Lecture in Hong Kong Studies was created in honour of his work. Organized by a group of Hong Kong scholars at York University, the lectures and accompanying events focus on Hong Kong as a distinct society, its influence on the wider world or the experiences of the Hong Kong diaspora.