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Beijing’s Growing Power, Fall of Hong Kong, and Implications for the Taiwan Strait

  • 20 Jan 2022
  • 12:00 PM
  • Online

Registration



Beijing’s Growing Power, Fall of Hong Kong, and Implications for the Taiwan Strait

Discussion with Dennis Kwok, Senior Fellow, Ash Centre, Harvard University; Former Member, Hong Kong Legislative Council, Distinguished Hong Kong Barrister

Given growing authoritarian approaches in the People's Republic of China, the CCP is RAPIDLY exerting increased centralized control over Hong Kong. Beijing has taken a number of actions to eliminate open democratic political opposition in breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

In this context, what does the future hold for Taiwan Strait relations? What are the lessons learned from the Hong Kong experience? What are the prospects for Hong Kong over the next 5-10 years?

Presenter Dennis Kwok is a founding member of the Civic Party in Hong Kong and Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Ash Centre for Democratic Governance and Innovation.

Professor Craig Calhoun of Arizona State University will moderate the Q&A. 

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Registration

Free for PCFR Members

$10 for Non-members

Schedule


Thursday, January 20, 2022

12 pm MST | 2 pm EST

Venue

Zoom Meeting

The link for this webinar will be included in your registration confirmation email.

Speaker

Dennis Kwok

Senior Fellow, Ash Centre, Harvard University;

Former Member, Hong Kong Legislative Council, Distinguished Hong Kong Barrister

Dennis Kwok was a founding member of the Civic Party in Hong Kong. Formed in 2006, Civic Party was one of the key political parties in Hong Kong that championed for the protection of the rule of law, greater democracy and human rights.

In 2012, Kwok was elected as the member of the Legislative Council (LegCo) representing the Hong Kong legal profession. The legislature in Hong Kong is divided into geographical seats and functional seats. Each member of the legal profession has one vote and is entitled to elect their representative in LegCo. Kwok succeeded veteran lawmaker Dr. Margaret Ng who held the LegCo legal seat for 16 years. Previous occupant of the legal seat includes Mr. Martin Lee, S.C., father of the democratic movement in Hong Kong. In 2016, Kwok was re-elected for a second four-year term with a 69% majority of votes from the legal profession.

During his time in office, Kwok was actively engaged in international advocacy work for Hong Kong’s democratic movement. He frequently travelled to the United States and Europe to advocate for Hong Kong and its democratic cause, presenting these issues to the international community including government officials, politicians and NGOs. He was one of the principal advocates against the 2019 extradition bill proposed by the Hong Kong government. He accepted numerous speaking engagements outside Hong Kong to discuss geopolitical issues related to the region. These speaking engagements included the Asia Society, New York City Bar and the Council on Foreign Relations (New York), the United Nations Business and Human Rights Forum (Geneva), an European Parliament subcommittee (Brussels), German Marshal Fund, Georgetown University and the Heritage Foundation (Washington DC), Venstre (Norway), the Stockholm Free World Forum (Sweden) and the Lowy Institute (Australia).

Kwok's current research focuses on the legal and political risks emerging from China from the perspectives of international business and NGOs. In his private legal practice, Kwok specializes in cross-border commercial disputes and international arbitration. He obtained his LLB from King’s College London. He qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales (2003) and as a barrister in Hong Kong (2006). Apart from this current position with Ash Centre, he is a Distinguished Scholar at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. He has also been appointed as a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo. Kwok is the recipient of the 2021 Commonwealth Law Conference Rule of Law Award bestowed by the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.

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Moderator


Craig Calhoun

Professor of Social Sciences, Arizona State University

Centennial Professor, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Craig Calhoun is University Professor of Social Sciences at Arizona State University and Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Previously, he was Director of the LSE, President of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), and a professor at NYU, Columbia, and UNC-Chapel Hill. Calhoun has published widely in social theory, comparative historical sociology, cultural and institutional analysis, and political economy. His current projects focus on cosmopolitanism and more local belonging, universities and the public good, and the implications of infrastructural innovation for social organization and sustainability. His books include Neither Gods nor Emperors: Students and the Struggle for Democracy in China (1994); Nations Matter: Citizenship, Solidarity, and the Cosmopolitan Dream (2007); Roots of Radicalism: Tradition, the Public Sphere, and Early 19 th Century Social Movements (2012); Does Capitalism Have a Future? (2013, with Immanuel Wallerstein, Randall Collins, Georgi Derluguian, and Michael Mann); and Degenerations of Democracy (2022, with Dilip Gaonkar and Charles Taylor). Calhoun received his DPhil from Oxford University and has received multiple awards, honorary doctorates, and the Sigillum Magnum of the University of Bologna. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, the AAAS, the APS and other honorary societies.


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