Abstract

The former British colony of Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China in 1997 under the binding principle of ‘one country, two systems’, whereby Hong Kong would become economically more integrated with the Pearl Delta Region in southern China while retaining its common law legal system and a degree of political autonomy guaranteed under the Basic Law for 50 years. As the local Business Council Report (Fung 2005: 17) explains: ‘The two economies should foster cooperation and compete together as one entity in world markets … [and] remove any barriers which may hinder or interrupt the efficient movement of people and goods.’ One of the manifestations of this political transition is the construction of distinct, multi-tiered border control processes between Hong Kong and mainland China. For Hong Kong citizens, unlimited travel across the border is relatively straightforward with a ‘Home Return Permit’. Mainland Chinese citizens, on the other hand, are subject to different layers of internal border control depending on their place of origin, and the purpose and the duration of their visit to Hong Kong. Paradoxically, under the gradual liberalization of internal border control and economic integration since 1997, the increasing flow of citizens across the border (in both directions) has led to the heightened visibility of border trading – a longstanding grey market – and in the process, heightened tensions of social political identities and exclusionary sentiments.