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Law, Policy and Development

Hong Kong is one of the leading financial centres in the world, a cosmopolitan city whose laws and financial system are widely respected. New economic and societal pressures, however, are making it necessary for the city to evolve to maintain its position as Asia’s "world city". Scholars from the Faculty of Law, Faculty of Social Sciences, Kadoorie Institute and Faculty of Business and Economics are investigating what structural changes are needed to stay on top.

The focus of their work is the four "central pillars" of world cities: the political environment, economic environment, place in the world and societal context. Research output will highlight the options available to Hong Kong as it enters the next stage of its development.

Political environment

Democratic institutions, the protection of human rights, the Rule of Law and a robust civil society are touchstones of a successful world city. They have also been at the forefront of public debate in Hong Kong since the handover to China in 1997.

"Many of these values are continually under threat of political compromise or sacrifice in the name of economic development and financial stability," said Mr S.N.M. Young of the Department of Law.

Professor J.C.W. Chan of the Department of Politics and Public Administration added: "Others have developed only after the end of colonial rule as a result of public demand for better governance and public policy-making in Hong Kong’s inchoate state of democracy."

This sub-theme will examine Hong Kong’s on-going political development, with particular focus given to the Basic Law and its implementation, as well as governance and civil society.

Economic environment

The global credit crisis has become the overriding economic issue for Hong Kong and most other economies in the world. HKU is well situated to consider the problem. It has developed special expertise in regulatory and other issues related to financial crises through the Asian Institute of International Financial Law, which was established after the Asian financial meltdown in the late 1990s.

Scholars now are examining the measures needed to fix the regulatory framework for financial markets in the United States and Europe, as well as reforming the international financial architecture to address the current crisis.

"We’re looking at what can prevent a crisis like the current one happening in future and what needs to be changed in the financial regulatory systems, including that of Hong Kong, to enhance competitiveness and support economic development," said Dr D.W. Arner of the Department of Law and convenor of the Law, Policy and Development research theme.

Place in the world

Hong Kong’s place in the world is usually defined in economic terms. It is the financial capital of Asia, a crossroads where companies from all corners of the globe do business. The changing nature of trading structures, however, means the city must consider how to adapt to emerging regimes.

Hong Kong has traditionally been a "very good citizen" of the World Trade Organisation, which promotes free trade, said Professor C.L. Lim of the Department of Law. However, Asian countries have been moving towards larger bilateral trade structures. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations now has bilateral agreements with China, Korea, Japan and India.

"The WTO is under threat from regional arrangements, including those forming in the Asia-Pacific," Professor Lim said. "Hong Kong has not entered such trade agreements."

Research therefore is focused on what Hong Kong can do to promote its free trade policy bilaterally. That means investigating how it can integrate its trade policies with the rest of Asia and understanding the implications of the various bilateral free trade agreements that are popping up across the region.

Societal context

Governance involves more than just economics and politics — a wider range of social issues also needs to be addressed. The Faculty of Social Sciences has joined with King’s College London and New York University to launch a collaborative research venture, Managing World Cities.

The on-going project looks at key aspects in managing the world cities of Hong Kong, London and New York, such as human capital and education, governance, sustainable development, crime, health, arts and leisure, and the characteristics of regional and financial hubs.

"The dynamics of world cities are quite different from other cities and we want to establish success criteria in each of these areas," said Professor R.M. Walker of HKU’s Kadoorie Institute.

One project involves a Delphi panel that will survey key experts in business, civil society and government for their opinions and priorities in each of the three cities, over several years. The data collected will be used to inform new research, as well as policy and practice in each city.