Public opinion and socio-cultural change in transitional Hong Kong

While China may have envisioned the Sino-British Declaration on Hong Kong as freezing in place for fifty years Hong Kong's system under the "one country, two systems" formula, in reality the signing of documents in 1984 stimulated changes in the role and nature of public opinion. Prior to 1984, public participation in politics had been artificially limited, and public opinion more the subject of manipulation than a source of change. After the declaration, Hong Kong people, promised "a high degree of autonomy" began to assert their views, in some cases and among some groups, forcefully. The author examines public opinion as a political force, looking at its role in the transforming socio-political and socio-economic structure of Hong Kong. Aspects of public opinion in the early 1990s, particularly regarding government and the role of the public, are covered.