UGEC2945 History of Hong Kong

This course introduces the history of Hong Kong from a British colony to the Special Administrative Region of China. It covers major events and issues of Hong Kong, emphasizing the development of political system, social structure and economic pattern, and evaluate the role of Hong Kong in modern China, in the Asian-Pacific region and in the world. The course critically examines how colonial governance and Sino-British relations affected Hong Kong, offering students a multi-perspective in understanding how Hong Kong has become what it is today. This course is relevant to three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in the area of SDG#8 Decent Work and Economic Growth by looking at the development of Hong Kong from an entrepôt to a global financial centre, SDG#10 Reduced Inequalities by looking at how Hong Kong evolved from a society of racial segregation to social inclusiveness, and SDG#16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions by looking at the public policy in promoting social reform and social justice.

Part I – Hong Kong: From the Opium War to the Second World War
(1) Canton Trade and the East India Company (5 January 2026)
(2) Opium War and the Opening of Hong Kong (12 January 2026)
(3) The Early Development and Colonial Setting (19 January 2026)
(4) State and Society in Colonial Hong Kong (26 January 2026)
(5) Hong Kong in the Interwar Period (2 February 2026)
(6) The Battle of Hong Kong and the Japanese Occupation (9 February 2026)

Part II – Post-war Hong Kong
(7) Post-war Hong Kong: Socio-political Development (23 February 2026)
(8) Post-war Hong Kong: Economic Takeoff (9 March 2026)
(9) Unrest and Crisis: Hong Kong in the 1960s (16 March 2026)
(10) The MacLehose Years (23 March 2026)
(11) Sino-British Negotiation and the Joint Declaration (30 March 2026)
(12) Towards 1997: Hong Kong in the Transitional Period (13 April 2026)

Quiz 30%
Essay 70%

A detailed reference list will be available in the first lecture.

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.

With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.

• In the case of group projects, all members of the group should be asked to sign the declaration, each of whom is responsible and liable to disciplinary actions, irrespective of whether he/she has signed the declaration and whether he/she has contributed, directly or indirectly, to the problematic contents.
• For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based and submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon students’ uploading of the soft copy of the assignment.

Assignments without the properly signed declaration will not be graded by teachers.

Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.

The submission of a piece of work, or a part of a piece of work, for more than one purpose (e.g. to satisfy the requirements in two different courses) without declaration to this effect shall be regarded as having committed undeclared multiple submissions. It is common and acceptable to reuse a turn of phrase or a sentence or two from one’s own work; but wholesale reuse is problematic. In any case, agreement from the course teacher(s) concerned should be obtained prior to the submission of the piece of work.