Getting to Democracy in Hong Kong

{
  "authors": [
    "Mei Ying Gechlik (Veron Hung)"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "asia",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "AP",
  "programs": [
    "Asia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "East Asia",
    "China"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Democracy",
    "Economy",
    "Military"
  ]
}

Other

Getting to Democracy in Hong Kong

Recognizing the growing public demand for democratization, the communist leadership of Beijing is prepared to enter a dialogue with Hong Kong democrats. Some in the U.S. Congress want to show solidarity with Hong Kong democrats and toughness toward Beijing by removing beneficial economic treatment that Hong Kong receives. This would be a mistake; better options exist.

By Mei Ying Gechlik (Veron Hung)

Published on Aug 15, 2004

Source: Carnegie Endowment

Demonstrations in Hong Kong highlight the ongoing struggle between its citizens and Chinese leaders over the course of democratization there. The United States has substantial economic stakes in Hong Kong, which would be threatened by political crisis. U.S. investment and trade interests depend on preservation of the rule of law in Hong Kong, while Hong Kong also is a bellwether for the political evolution of Greater China, including Taiwan.

Recognizing the growing public demand for democratization, the communist leadership of Beijing is prepared to enter a dialogue with Hong Kong democrats. However, the democrats’ leverage depends on their performance in the September 12 legislative elections. Some in the U.S. Congress want to show solidarity with Hong Kong democrats and toughness toward Beijing by removing beneficial economic treatment that Hong Kong receives. This would be a mistake; better options exist for Americans to help democratization in Hong Kong.

Click on link above for the full text of this Policy Brief.

A limited number of print copies are available.
Request a copy

About the Author
Veron Hung is an associate in the Carnegie Endowment’s China Program. She received her doctorate from Stanford University and has in-depth experience in Chinese law, and law and politics in the Asia-Pacific region. She is the author of China's WTO Commitment on Independent Judicial Review (Carnegie Paper No. 32).

About the Author

Mei Ying Gechlik (Veron Hung)

Former Non-Resident Associate

Recent Work

Paper
Protecting Intellectual Property Rights in Chinese Courts: An Analysis of Recent Patent Judgments
- Mei Ying Gechlik (Veron Hung)
Paper
Judicial Reform in China: Lessons from Shanghai
- Mei Ying Gechlik (Veron Hung)

Political Reform Democracy Economy Military East Asia China

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie China

Commentary
China Financial Markets
The Plaza Accord and Its Relevance for China
The Plaza Accord was not an externally imposed punishment of Japan but part of a broader restructuring that Japanese economists and policymakers themselves recognized was necessary. Its effects were undermined, however, when Tokyo responded to the resulting slowdown with policies that exacerbated investment, credit expansion, and the very imbalances the adjustment was intended to resolve.
Michael Pettis
Paper
Untangling the Nuclear Knot: A Constructive Agenda for Managing China’s Nuclear Relations with the United States and Its Allies
The nuclear relationship between China and the United States is increasingly shaped by widening perception gaps rather than deliberate strategic design.
Tong Zhao
Commentary
China Financial Markets
Who Paid for China’s Last Debt Cleanup, and Who Will Pay for the Next?
China’s banking crisis in the 2000s was resolved by transferring the costs to households through financial repression—a decision that recapitalized the banks while exacerbating the structural imbalances that continue to shape the Chinese economy today.
Michael Pettis
Commentary
Caught in the Middle: Chinese Biotech Firms’ Divergent Responses to U.S. Sanctions
Chinese biotech companies have been on the receiving end of U.S. economic coercion. Yet their responses have differed significantly because firm and state interests are not uniformly aligned. For Washington, treating all Chinese tech firms the same, irrespective of their actual interests, risks pushing them farther into Beijing’s corner.
Xue Gong
Commentary
Are Data Centers the Solution to China’s Renewables Excess Capacity?
China’s latest energy plan explicitly calls for integrating data centers into the electricity system, particularly connecting them to green energy. It appears Beijing wants to use compute as a source of domestic demand to absorb renewables excess capacity.
Damien Ma

Getting to Democracy in Hong Kong

More Work from Carnegie China

Commentary

China Financial Markets

The Plaza Accord and Its Relevance for China

The Plaza Accord was not an externally imposed punishment of Japan but part of a broader restructuring that Japanese economists and policymakers themselves recognized was necessary. Its effects were undermined, however, when Tokyo responded to the resulting slowdown with policies that exacerbated investment, credit expansion, and the very imbalances the adjustment was intended to resolve.

Michael Pettis

The nuclear missile formation passes through Tian'anmen Square during a military parade on September 3, 2025 in Beijing, China.

Paper

Untangling the Nuclear Knot: A Constructive Agenda for Managing China’s Nuclear Relations with the United States and Its Allies

The nuclear relationship between China and the United States is increasingly shaped by widening perception gaps rather than deliberate strategic design.

Tong Zhao

Commentary

China Financial Markets

Who Paid for China’s Last Debt Cleanup, and Who Will Pay for the Next?

China’s banking crisis in the 2000s was resolved by transferring the costs to households through financial repression—a decision that recapitalized the banks while exacerbating the structural imbalances that continue to shape the Chinese economy today.

Michael Pettis

Robot arm with disposable test tube virus sampling in laboratory

Commentary

Caught in the Middle: Chinese Biotech Firms’ Divergent Responses to U.S. Sanctions

Chinese biotech companies have been on the receiving end of U.S. economic coercion. Yet their responses have differed significantly because firm and state interests are not uniformly aligned. For Washington, treating all Chinese tech firms the same, irrespective of their actual interests, risks pushing them farther into Beijing’s corner.

Xue Gong

An aerial drone photo taken on June 4, 2026 shows a wind-photovoltaic power storage station of Huadian Inner Mongolia New Energy Co., Ltd. as part of the Horinger data center cluster green energy supply demonstration project, in Hohhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Commentary

Are Data Centers the Solution to China’s Renewables Excess Capacity?

China’s latest energy plan explicitly calls for integrating data centers into the electricity system, particularly connecting them to green energy. It appears Beijing wants to use compute as a source of domestic demand to absorb renewables excess capacity.

Damien Ma