(Left to right): Margaret Ng, Shiu Sin-por, Chaofen Sun, Wang Zhenmin, Tuen-Yu Lau, Ming Chan,
Ronnie Chan, James B. Cunningham.

The first CEAS symposium this year brought in important figures from Hong Kong to reflect on and assess the prospects of Hong Kong ’s first decade as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the PRC.
The program was organized by Hoover Institution research fellow Ming K. Chan (Ph.D., History, 1975). Over seventy people heard opposing points of view on the process of Hong Kong democratization from Margaret Ng, Legislative Councilor and a Civic Party founder; Ronnie Chan, Chair of Hang Lung Group Ltd.; and Shiu Sin-por, of the HKSAR government’s Central Policy Unit. They heatedly disagreed on the pace of democratization.
Tuen-yu Lau, CEAS visiting scholar (M.A., Communications, 1982), discussed media politics in China’s Hong Kong. Wang Zhenmin of Tsinghua University Law School focused on the Basic Law as Hong Kong’s mini-constitution. Ambassador James B. Cunningham, U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong, highlighted the U.S. official view on the HKSAR’s future. Most panelists agreed that Hong Kong’s role as a bridge between China and the world has diminished due to China’s extremely rapid economic development. They also thought that Hong Kong needs to address the lack of trust between the HKSAR and the central authorities in Beijing, as well as sharp internal discord on the values and dimensions of democracy crucial to Hong Kong’s electoral reform. Their papers will be published next year in a volume to be edited by Ming Chan with the City University Press in Hong Kong.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE, NOVEMBER 12, 2008

OPENING SESSION: 10:35 am – 10:55 am
Welcome Remarks
Chaofen Sun
Director, Center for East Asian Studies; Associate Professor, Asian Languages, Stanford University

Introduction
Ming K. Chan
Symposium Coordinator; Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

PANEL I: 11:00 am – 11:50 am
Journalistic Development and Media Politics in China’s Hong Kong
Tuen-Yu Lau
Media Professor and Consultant; Visiting Scholar, Stanford University

PANEL II: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
What You Are Not Supposed To Know about Hong Kong
Ronnie Chan
Chair, The Better Hong Kong Foundation; Chair, Asia Society Hong Kong Center; Chair, Hang Lung Group Limited

PANEL III: 1:10 pm – 2:00 pm
A Decade of Hong Kong Basic Law Actualization
Wang Zhenmin
Vice Dean, Tsinghua University Law School; Member, National People’s Congress Committee for the Basic Law
of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

PANEL IV: 2:10 pm – 3:00 pm
Democratization in the HKSAR from a Pan-democratic Camp Perspective
Margaret Ng
Legislative Council Member, HKSAR; Civic Party, Founding Member

PANEL V: 3:10 pm – 4:00 pm
HKSAR, 10 Years Later
Shiu Sin-por
Central Policy Unit Member, HKSAR; Former Executive Director, One Country, Two Systems Research Institute

PANEL VI: 4:10 pm – 5:00 pm (CANCELED)
Mainland-HKSAR Economic Integration since 1997 and Developmental Visions for the Future
Edward K. Y. Chen
Distinguished Fellow, Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong; Former President, Lingnan University

FINAL PANEL: 5:10 pm – 6:00 pm
Hong Kong at 10 Years: Prospects for the Future
James B. Cunningham
U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong; Former Ambassador and Deputy U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations