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Since Hong Kong's return to China in July 1997, the Chinese government has begun implementing its "one country, two systems" in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) arousing boiling international attention. Some are concerned about China's interference into the HKSAR's governance and even skeptical of any effective democratic development in Hong Kong under the "one country, two systems." Nevertheless, over the past 10 years, Hong Kong has gradually regenerated itself from once downcast and depressing period of development to moving towards stability, prosperity and improved democratic development with continuous political, economic, and social progresses. Under such circumstances, how would the HKSAR government devise a democratic system suitable for Hong Kong? Will the people of Hong Kong support the government's mechanisms under the existing political systems by adjusting themselves from British rule to the "one country, two systems" confinement? What impact and implication will the "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong have on China's counterpart Taiwan? This paper intends to explore both positive and negative impact of the "one county, two systems" on Hong Kong's democratic development since the return. Through an integration of pertinent democratic development and "one country, two systems" contentions, it attempts to probe into and analyze the signaling effect of the "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong's democratic development as well as the implications for Taiwan. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are regions embedded in autocratic political spheres able to maintain their autonomy, democracy and freedom? This paper examines this question through an analysis of the political and socio-economic impacts of China's integration of Hong Kong. Recent theories of democratization have emphasized the democratizing potential of international linkages to Western countries. The case of Hong Kong represents an interesting "reverse" test for such theories. Will integration with an autocratic central government overwhelm progress toward democracy in Hong Kongâ??or might Hong Kong's historical linkages to the West have a democratizing impact on the Chinese polity? To answer this critical question, we evaluate several key performance indicators, including World Bank governance data, for China and Hong Kong in the post-1997 period. In spite of serious constraints on Hong Kong's polity and flaws in their democratic institutions, the data yield the surprising conclusion that the transition to Chinese authority has not undermined governance in Hong Kong; on the contrary, indicators for voice and accountability have shown a marked improvement during the past ten years. We seek to explain this surprising result and conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings for China, Taiwan and cross-strait relations. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]