The great difference: Hong Kong's new territories and its people, 1898-2004

Abstract

In 1898, Great Britain added to its colony at Hong Kong a 368-square-mile expanse of mountainous countryside and islands, leased from China for a term of 99 years, which became known as New Territories. The colonial official, James Stewart Lockhart, after an inspection of newly acquired extension, called it the great difference, describing gulf between people of New Territories and their counterparts in existing, largely urban, British colony. In this book, James Hayes argues that the great difference led colonial government to administer New Territories and its people differently from old urban area from outset, with repercussions that continue to affect present-day Hong Kong. First published in 2006, and now appearing in this paperback edition with a new preface, The Great Difference covers whole period of lease and embodies fruits of its author's studies of territory and indigenous population over several decades. While not a formal history of New Territories, it is intended to provide an intimate and knowledgeable overview of this fascinating area and assist other researchers, paving way for general history that has yet to be written.