| Abstract | The second full year (1999) of the Special Administrative Region (SAR) witnessed acrimonious debates over a number of legal issues on which the opposition groups and the administration took conflicting positions. The right of abode of the children of Hong Kong parents, who live in the Mainland, was a serious question involving specific provisions of the Basic Law; the government's move to have them interpreted by the National Peoples' Congress was roundly criticised. Hong Kong seems slow to the idea of politicising itself, although there were intense Campaigning for the November 1999 elections to the District Councils. Citing a number of instances, critics maintain that under the Tung Chee-hwa administration democracy has no future in the SAR. Dick Wilson, author of several books on China and Hong Kong, analyses the events. |
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