A Comparative Study of the China Factor in Taiwan and Hong Kong Elections

Abstract

This chapter probes the economic dimension of the China factor in Taiwan and Hong Kong politics. We discuss how economic integration efforts affect elections and party competitions in smaller states neighboring China. Research on globalization suggests that freer international trade redistributes wealth among big and small states and reshapes local or regional political cleavages. Growing inequalities among and within these states could consequently reinforce localist identities and pro-independence movements. In the case of China, economic integration manifested in recent free trade treaties with Taiwan and Hong Kong coincides with the rise of localism and state-wide protests against further integration. In this study, we examine the micro-level connections between economic integration and political disintegration using new survey data about public perceptions of China in these societies. ©2018 Springer Nature Switzerland AG