This volume analyses the evolution of a unique brand of politics in Hong Kong. It examines how a Crown Colony system responded to the demands made of it by its Chinese and British residents in the shadow of the often volatile politics of modern China. It covers a wide range of subjects, from constitutional changes to the development of an independent civil service, to the rise and fall of systematic bureaucratic corruption, to the emergence of a distinct political culture, and to the importance of China in Hong Kong politics. It also explains the basis of polotical stability in Hong Kong – how British imperial rule turned out to meet public expectations in the Chinese political tradition.