Hong Kong in Sino-British diplomacy, 1949-1984

This thesis contends that the peaceful resolution of the Hong Kong issue evolved, not only out of the parties' mutual desire to maintain the colony as an international financial centre, but also out of complementary Anglo-Chinese diplomacies informed by consonant British and Sinified Marxist-Leninist realisms. Indeed, a sensitivity to the latter provides a more comprehensive explication of the issue as a whole than does mere reference to the economic imperative alone. One should not underestimate the parallels between these realisms, particularly because Mao Zedong's epistemology is possessed of an inherent tactical flexibility which permits situation-specific responses consistent with "objective reality" as evinced by the "paper tiger" thesis and the doctrine of "united front." In this way, it is comparable to London's traditional pragmatic approach to international affairs as practised in the context of the balance of power. By focusing on Sino-British diplomacy, this thesis takes issue with those who would reduce Chinese Communism to nothing more than a mere rationalisation for Realpolitik, and with those who argue that the primacy of ideology in Beijing's decisional calculus renders relations between itself and non-communist states necessarily adversarial.