Hong Kong: The Making of a Modern City-State
(2006) 13 Murdoch E-Law Journal, 24
23 Pages Posted: 13 Sep 2012 Last revised: 24 Oct 2012
Date Written: September 12, 2012
Abstract
City-States are typically defined as "an independent political unit consisting of a city and surrounding countryside". They reached their peak in ancient Greece, although a number, like Florence, Venice and Genoa endured in Italy until the middle of the 19th century. Bremen and Hamburg also retained this status until they were absorbed into the modern German State. In the period since the end of World War II, in 1945, two City-States have thrived in East Asia; Singapore and Hong Kong. Both owe their modern beginnings to their choosing, by the British, as key ports servicing the trading and military needs of the 19th century, British Empire. This article examines the political-legal-social-economic creation and development of the modern City-State of Hong Kong.
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