Hong Kong–Taiwan Relations from the Handover to the Anti-extradition Law Movement—How Sub-state Diplomacy Has Failed

Abstract

After Hong Kong’s handover in 1997, the development of its relations with Taiwan has been full of twists and turns. Formal and bureaucratic interactions have stifled the strategic ambiguity needed to utilise Hong Kong as a buffer for cross-strait tensions. The subtle interaction between Hong Kong and Taiwan, being leveraged to reduce tension and facilitate communication in the cross-strait conflict, has been weakened since the mid-2010s even though institutionalisation was enhanced. Thus, the future development of Hong Kong–Taiwan relations may seem even more pessimistic than cross-strait relations.