Photo of Professor Fiona de Londras, Birmingham Law School
Professor Fiona de Londras

Professor Fiona de Londras has been awarded a British Academy Small Research Grant, for the project ‘China’s National Security: Endangering Hong Kong’s Rule of Law?’.

All states are challenged by the need to protect national security while maintaining the rule of law; this issue is particularly complex in Hong Kong. Governed by China under the rubric “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong has a strong rule of law tradition - a key feature that distinguishes it from China. However, concerns over whether Hong Kong can maintain this distinctiveness in light of apparently increasing Chinese security advances are intensifying.

The project (awarded £9,350) will assemble leading experts on Hong Kong, national security and comparative public law to explore the risks of enacting security legislation and the region’s sources of resilience, and will show how Hong Kong might succeed in resisting pressures to advance China’s security through repressive laws.

Professor de Londras and co-investigator Cora Chan (University of Hong Kong) will lead this project, which includes scholars from King’s College London, the National University of Singapore, Macau University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the University of Hawaii. The 18-month project will start in May 2017.