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City on the Edge: Hong Kong under Chinese Rule
For decades, Hong Kong has maintained precarious freedom at the edge of competing world powers. In City on the Edge, Ho-fung Hung offers a timely and engaging account of Hong Kong's development from precolonial times to the present, with particular focus on the post 1997 handover period. Through careful analysis of vast economic data, a myriad of political events, and intricate networks of actors and ideas, Hung offers readers insight into the fraught economic, political, and social forces that led to the 2019 uprising, while situating the protests in the context of global finance and the geopolitics of the US-China rivalry. A provocative contribution to the discussion on Hong Kong's position in today's world, City on the Edge demonstrates that the resistance and repression of 2019-2020 does not spell the end of Hong Kong but the beginning of a long conflict with global repercussions.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 19, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 19, 2024
Even if you're not altogether convinced by the author's political line (and I'm not - it is, very approximately, pro-HK independence from the left, on the basis that the PRC is an imperialist and even semi-fascist force whose economic doom is imminent) this is an excellent recent history of HK and its place in the Chinese and world economy: thoughtful, clear and allowing its arguments to come out of analysis rather than hectoring. Also notable for some breathtaking facts on the political trajectories of HK's civil society activists and governing elites (eg: did you know Chief Executive Carrie Lam's political career began as a Maoist housing activist? Now you do).
August 4, 2022
Living On The Edge
This was a good read on Hong Kong.
Now, I have read many books on Hong Kong lately, and this one was not as interesting as some of the others - to be honest.
It was still a good book to learn some world issues, but just not a groundbreaking book.
I would sooner recommend:
Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow the World: what China's Crackdown Reveals about Its Plans to End Freedom Everywhere, Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong, or City on Fire: The Fight for Hong Kong.
3.6/5
This was a good read on Hong Kong.
Now, I have read many books on Hong Kong lately, and this one was not as interesting as some of the others - to be honest.
It was still a good book to learn some world issues, but just not a groundbreaking book.
I would sooner recommend:
Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow the World: what China's Crackdown Reveals about Its Plans to End Freedom Everywhere, Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong, or City on Fire: The Fight for Hong Kong.
3.6/5
August 14, 2022
Professor Ho-fung Hung’s “City on the Edge” opens by evocatively describing the 2019 student protests. The now well-know catalyst was a proposed amendment to Hong Kong law. The modification would enable Beijing to extradite those suspected of breaking Communist Party diktat and try them before people’s procuratorates on the mainland. In a territory where “subversive” literature booksellers were abducted and then disappeared into the PRC catacombs, one is not surprised those who enjoy liberty rallied against the CCPs brand of justice.
Over its history, Professor Hung argues that Hong Kong has been balancing between three forces in tension with each other. The city’s tripartite influences being local (the quest to identify a unique culture), regional (China’s economic and political gravity), and global (its role as a channel into the global economy and former colonial status). To adequately situate Hong Kong’s current woes, one must broaden the geographic and historical scope. Only then can we appreciate how and why Hong Kongers’ “conservatism and pragmatism, even apathy towards politics”, evolved into brightly burning anger.
Hong Kong is not, after all, a mere former British colonial outpost awaiting its inevitable mainland assimilation — a communist-vindicated view bringing Western imperial humiliation to a righteous end. Hong Kong has its own distinct political economy. It is a metropolis window into global capital and commerce; a city-state with a distinct local identity in which the East-West mosaic is only a very recent manifestation. Given its global orientation, only a global context can adequately describe Hong Kong’s character.
Hung scours scholarly publications which, he believes, provide evidence of shifting cultural moods in Hong Kong. The Professor finds in post-1997 intellectual and cultural products historical influences emerging from deeper foundations à la Annales. His analysis is supplemented with economic data and interviews.
Situating Hong Kong within its proper global context grants a far more nuanced understanding. The territory has long existed as a strategically-located gateway at the vent for China’s dynamic industry: the Pearl River Delta. As Hung notes, since at least the Tang Dynasty the New Territories served a waypoint function to collect customs revenue from regional merchants (South East Asian, Indian, and Arab). Pre-1842, the location was also a useful spot for conducting barbarian management.
Through adopting his telescopic view, Professor Hung illuminates Hong Kong’s lengthy history of resistance. The oppositional strand began against dynasties, then moved to defy clans, colonialists, and finally communists. His long range view unearths previously neglected threads, producing highly original analysis.
Finally, with the scholarly lens magnified over the last century, Professor Hung examines globalisation’s gathering momentum. First labour (through light-manufacturing export to service international consumer demand), then capital (as a financial services conduit to / from the mainland amidst economies’ financialisation) swept the fragrant harbour along its tides. Hong Kong has long maintained outsized significance in the global economic machine.
On method, Hung professes to “following the spirit of [Marx’s] “Eighteenth Brumaire” to enliven how “the balance of forces among different classes, and the state bureaucracy” have shaped Hong Kong’s identity. Using Marx as a theoretical foundation to examine how a populace are reacting to a Sino-Marxist-Leninist party’s encroachment is so thick with irony one struggles to know where to start. And then, just when his book was destined to sail over the neighbour’s fence, Hung saves the publication from compost with an orientation full of prescient insights about the narrative to come.
Though I always enjoy hearing contrarian arguments, I do not share the Professor’s cautious optimism about Hong Kong’s future. His notion that linkages into the global economy, Beijing’s need for those linkages, and international backing will prevent Hong Kong from becoming just another PRC city seems, regrettably, improbable.
Multinational firms — arguably the fundamental actors in this unfolding play — have revealed continually impressive cowardice across multiple jurisdictions when faced with even mild pressure. While global economic growth remains stagnant I see little evidence this behaviour will change. Being acutely aware of the salivating effect 1.4 billion consumers has upon executives, Beijing has dangled market access for decades. Accordingly, when confronted with Beijing’s ire, a possible threat to director remuneration and / or institutional investors’ returns, the firms have asked: “how high, xiānsheng?” It must cause no end of amusement to see Tantalus’ thirst remain unquenched.
Nonetheless, I emphatically agree with the author’s approach to broaden analytical units (both space and time). It is also wonderful to see a scholar carefully drawing on China’s long imperial history to understand contemporary actions. And, pleasingly, with not a single Sun Tzu maxim in sight. Professor Hung’s “City on the Edge” sets an admirable scope which is threaded with plenty of original insights along the way.
Over its history, Professor Hung argues that Hong Kong has been balancing between three forces in tension with each other. The city’s tripartite influences being local (the quest to identify a unique culture), regional (China’s economic and political gravity), and global (its role as a channel into the global economy and former colonial status). To adequately situate Hong Kong’s current woes, one must broaden the geographic and historical scope. Only then can we appreciate how and why Hong Kongers’ “conservatism and pragmatism, even apathy towards politics”, evolved into brightly burning anger.
Hong Kong is not, after all, a mere former British colonial outpost awaiting its inevitable mainland assimilation — a communist-vindicated view bringing Western imperial humiliation to a righteous end. Hong Kong has its own distinct political economy. It is a metropolis window into global capital and commerce; a city-state with a distinct local identity in which the East-West mosaic is only a very recent manifestation. Given its global orientation, only a global context can adequately describe Hong Kong’s character.
Hung scours scholarly publications which, he believes, provide evidence of shifting cultural moods in Hong Kong. The Professor finds in post-1997 intellectual and cultural products historical influences emerging from deeper foundations à la Annales. His analysis is supplemented with economic data and interviews.
Situating Hong Kong within its proper global context grants a far more nuanced understanding. The territory has long existed as a strategically-located gateway at the vent for China’s dynamic industry: the Pearl River Delta. As Hung notes, since at least the Tang Dynasty the New Territories served a waypoint function to collect customs revenue from regional merchants (South East Asian, Indian, and Arab). Pre-1842, the location was also a useful spot for conducting barbarian management.
Through adopting his telescopic view, Professor Hung illuminates Hong Kong’s lengthy history of resistance. The oppositional strand began against dynasties, then moved to defy clans, colonialists, and finally communists. His long range view unearths previously neglected threads, producing highly original analysis.
Finally, with the scholarly lens magnified over the last century, Professor Hung examines globalisation’s gathering momentum. First labour (through light-manufacturing export to service international consumer demand), then capital (as a financial services conduit to / from the mainland amidst economies’ financialisation) swept the fragrant harbour along its tides. Hong Kong has long maintained outsized significance in the global economic machine.
On method, Hung professes to “following the spirit of [Marx’s] “Eighteenth Brumaire” to enliven how “the balance of forces among different classes, and the state bureaucracy” have shaped Hong Kong’s identity. Using Marx as a theoretical foundation to examine how a populace are reacting to a Sino-Marxist-Leninist party’s encroachment is so thick with irony one struggles to know where to start. And then, just when his book was destined to sail over the neighbour’s fence, Hung saves the publication from compost with an orientation full of prescient insights about the narrative to come.
Though I always enjoy hearing contrarian arguments, I do not share the Professor’s cautious optimism about Hong Kong’s future. His notion that linkages into the global economy, Beijing’s need for those linkages, and international backing will prevent Hong Kong from becoming just another PRC city seems, regrettably, improbable.
Multinational firms — arguably the fundamental actors in this unfolding play — have revealed continually impressive cowardice across multiple jurisdictions when faced with even mild pressure. While global economic growth remains stagnant I see little evidence this behaviour will change. Being acutely aware of the salivating effect 1.4 billion consumers has upon executives, Beijing has dangled market access for decades. Accordingly, when confronted with Beijing’s ire, a possible threat to director remuneration and / or institutional investors’ returns, the firms have asked: “how high, xiānsheng?” It must cause no end of amusement to see Tantalus’ thirst remain unquenched.
Nonetheless, I emphatically agree with the author’s approach to broaden analytical units (both space and time). It is also wonderful to see a scholar carefully drawing on China’s long imperial history to understand contemporary actions. And, pleasingly, with not a single Sun Tzu maxim in sight. Professor Hung’s “City on the Edge” sets an admirable scope which is threaded with plenty of original insights along the way.
April 16, 2024
I must admit to a very personal connection to this topic. I lived in Hong Kong from 2015 to 2020 and was physically very close to one of the bigger protests that took place and walked through one or two demonstrations in 2019. It was a complex time and one of the reasons ( although not the primary one) that we ended up moving.
This book focuses on the history of Hong Kong all the way back from before the British took control and covered information all the way up till now. It was a very detailed book that I’ve left a copy on my shelf if I ever want to reread it.
Many countries have complex histories and it only takes a little scratch to see below the surface. Given its prime location Hong Kong has had its fair share of changes over time. Some interesting facts I took away was the convenient economic position the country was in in the past for people ( or even other countries) wanting to circumvent their stance on bigger topics.
I will not go into any details since it’s an academically inclined book with graphs that I couldn’t see very well in my version but they supposedly reinforce the information we learn from the rest of the book. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in what lies before the newsworthy events of the last few years.
I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but my review is entirely based on my reading experience and my own emotional connection with the place.
This book focuses on the history of Hong Kong all the way back from before the British took control and covered information all the way up till now. It was a very detailed book that I’ve left a copy on my shelf if I ever want to reread it.
Many countries have complex histories and it only takes a little scratch to see below the surface. Given its prime location Hong Kong has had its fair share of changes over time. Some interesting facts I took away was the convenient economic position the country was in in the past for people ( or even other countries) wanting to circumvent their stance on bigger topics.
I will not go into any details since it’s an academically inclined book with graphs that I couldn’t see very well in my version but they supposedly reinforce the information we learn from the rest of the book. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in what lies before the newsworthy events of the last few years.
I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but my review is entirely based on my reading experience and my own emotional connection with the place.
November 27, 2023
Super interesting book on Hong Kong more along the lines of what I've been looking for in a primer on Hong Kong, its history, and its relationship with China. Ho-fung Hung is a US-based economist who was raised and educated in Hong Kong, so is familiar with the city beyond academia. What I enjoyed the most about City on the Edge is the data. It's very well researched, especially on the economics side of the discussion, and the bibliography serves as a great source of direction for further reading.
March 31, 2024
by Johns Hopkins社会学教授孔誥烽，相当不错的香港政治当代史，译文也很好。章节组织为三大部分——“资本”“帝国”“抵抗”，非常精准地抓住了香港政治从二战至今的核心矛盾和players。从80年代的“民主回归派”到2010年代陈云《香港城邦论》为代表的本地民族认同和本土派运动兴起，本土派中又分化出勇武派，本地的政治诉求被铁腕打压后伴随而来的总是诉求的进一步激进化。胡温时代还能和泛民谈判妥协一下，习时代后则进入了打压-激进化-更严打压-更加激进的循环。大加(dao)速(che)时代，未来的香港是转向cynical的政治冷漠，还是表面平静下的怒火潜流？“不要笑，不要哭，不要恨，要理解。”
November 28, 2023
Very sobering read about my Homeland in this modern day. Fascinating to read about the greater economic realities for Hong Kong over the last 50 odd years. I need to read an update of the current political and economic situation!
September 15, 2024
站在一个旁观者的视角，也站在同情和希望HK 更好的视角，在中华帝国的另一个边陲之处，挣扎着挺拔着，那是狮子山下的不屈也是海阔天空的高歌～威权者只是一时的，我们比那些老者更长久，城邦和你我永存，我们持续抗争，更保持活力，时代革命，香港加油！
December 18, 2025
關於香港為何會變成現狀的一本必讀書。
April 20, 2025
3.5 An important topic with a valuable macro lens, even if narrowed to a strictly neoliberal lens. It does read more like a juicy exposé rather than meticulously researched, and Hung’s approach could’ve been more critical, generally, to all parties and histories mentioned. But it’s a good overview to the 2019 protests.
May 14, 2025
2019年的香港抗争剧情已经把未来中国大陆剧情提前上演。非常赞同结尾的一段文字，「2019 年的抗爭和鎮壓，並非香港前途鬥爭的終結，而是一個新的開端」。
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews