Hong Kong's Tumultuous Year: The Challenges of Democratisation and Localist Nationalism to China's One Country, Two System Principle

This article surveys the challenge to China's one country, two systems principle that has underpinned Hong Kong existence and prosperity since 1997. Domestic dissatisfaction with structural inequalities, disillusionment with power-sharing and governance issues along with external geopolitical factors exacerbated a strong anti-Chinese Hong Kong nationalism to ignite the 2019 crisis. This article provides an analysis of the issues at stake, and maps out the dilemmas and challenges facing China and Hong Kong for the foreseeable future.