Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of the land rights situation and related controversies in rural Hong Kong from Indigenous rights and other perspectives. Though ill-defined, Indigenous rights and interests are constitutionally enshrined and are exercised through Indigenous leaders’ representation in political bodies and the continuation of traditional customs and practices, including land arrangements. This system of political representation and differentiated land rights is often perceived as unfair by Hong Kong’s non-Indigenous population, especially in the context of acute land and housing shortages. Antagonism to Indigenous rights is further exacerbated by their discriminatory nature towards women and by alleged collusion between Indigenous elites, land developers, organized crime and the authoritarian government. Nonetheless, this chapter argues that a commitment to liberal democratic principles mandates continued respect for Indigenous rights, but calls for a fundamental reform of these rights in accordance with international norms, liberal rights theory and progressive streams of Confucian thought.
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Notes
- 1.
In a nutshell, Indigenous inhabitants are Hong Kong residents of Chinese origins whose ancestors already inhabited the New Territories when the British leased the area in 1898. Their history is discussed further in the second section of this chapter. Note that, in keeping with scholarly convention, this chapter capitalizes terms related to Indigeneity, except in quotes wherein the source does not enforce capitalization (such as Hong Kong official documents). See American Psychological Association (2019) for guidelines on the capitalization of terms relating to ethnoracial identities.
- 2.
Hong Kong could best be described as an electoral autocracy. The executive is effectively unelected and nominated by Beijing, and until recently, about half of legislative seats were freely elected, while representation in the other half were selected by corporate interests with close links to the executive. The scope of elections has been further restricted in recent years, to the point where Hong Kong’s political system can now be deemed wholly uncompetitive.
- 3.
In the cultural realm, for instance, the New Territories have been home to the Wai Tau dialect of Cantonese and to the Hakka and Tanka languages, all of which have contrasted with the mainstream Cantonese predominantly spoken in other parts of Hong Kong, though they have been in sharp decline.
- 4.
Hong Kong is an interesting exception in that it was forcibly handed to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1997 instead of achieving independence.
- 5.
These rights are further spelled out in a number of Articles, such as Articles 4, 5, 25 and 26.
- 6.
Hase (2020, pp. 14–17), like most writers on the subject (including Hong Kong government officials), unambiguously depicts Tso-T’ong as trusts. However, Merry (2020, Chapter 8), who writes from a more strictly legal perspective, has reservations on this terminology, preferring the terms endowment or foundation (ibid, p. 109).
- 7.
Eligibility to apply for a Small House Grant is restricted to “an indigenous villager who is a male person at least 18 years old and descended through the male line from a resident in 1898 of a recognized village” (Lands Department, 2014).
- 8.
Hopkinson and Lao (2003, p. 24) provide a slightly different—though wholly congruent—interpretation of these developments.
- 9.
Unmarried daughters and wives of male descendants were technically also denied formal membership and only offered a symbolic sum in the form of inheritance (Kim, 2016, p. 142).
- 10.
Article 7 mentions that: “The land and natural resources within the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be State property. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be responsible for their management, use and development and for their lease or grant to individuals, legal persons or organizations for use or development. The revenues derived therefrom shall be exclusively at the disposal of the government of the Region” (Basic Law).
- 11.
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Dupré, JF. (2023). Urban Development and Land Controversies in Rural Hong Kong: An Indigenous Rights Perspective. In: Yung, B., Mok, F.K.T., Wong, B. (eds) Rights and Urban Controversies in Hong Kong. Governance and Citizenship in Asia. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1272-8_4
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