This thesis analyses the collaboration between the Chinese merchant elite and the Colonial government of Hong Kong during the 1925-1926 Canton-Hong Kong Strike-Boycott. The Chinese merchants played...Show moreThis thesis analyses the collaboration between the Chinese merchant elite and the Colonial government of Hong Kong during the 1925-1926 Canton-Hong Kong Strike-Boycott. The Chinese merchants played a crucial role in shaping and developing British Hong Kong. At the same time, there was interdependence between the British rulers and the merchants to maintain public order or to recover from instability. This was particularly evident during the 1920s in which China was amid the surge of Chinese nationalism, and anti-foreignism. As the 1925 Nanking Road Incident and the May Thirtieth Movement led to national outbursts against foreign powers, British Hong Kong became the prime example of anti-imperialists protests in South China. From the 1920s onwards, non-violent coercion methods became not only more frequently used but also politicized by the Kuomintang and the communists. To explore the relation between the Hong Kong community and the Colonial government during the sixteen-month long strike, this thesis uses mainly the South China Morning Post as primary resource, and many more secondary resources. At times it will use sources such as newspapers, British archival material, documentation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China. The Colonial government and the Chinese Merchant elite were coping closely to control the outcome and to end of the boycott-strike. In this thesis, I argue that that the emergence of Hongkong identity came in the wake of the Canton-Hongkong Boycott Strike of 1925-1926 by the British.Show less
Political liberalization following the lifting of Martial Law in Taiwan in 1987 was vital in the gradual decline of authoritarianism on the island. While the KMT previously managed Taiwan through a...Show morePolitical liberalization following the lifting of Martial Law in Taiwan in 1987 was vital in the gradual decline of authoritarianism on the island. While the KMT previously managed Taiwan through a system of corporatist control, the advent of pluralism saw a decline of the ruling party, a disintegration of authoritarian state institutions and the increased implementation of neoliberal policies to restructure the Taiwanese economy. In taking on a comparative perspective between the causes of labour discipline before and after political liberalization in Taiwan, this paper will argue that variegated interests and processes established neoliberalism in Taiwan, shifting the causes of labour discipline away from state-cooptation towards precarious and insecure employment relationships.Show less
