Nie Riming: When China's development is connected to the track of international trade, the fate of the two cities of Shanghai and Hong Kong was immediately changed.
Talking about international cities in China, it cannot be turned to Shanghai and Hong Kong.
To say that Shuangchengji, Shanghai and Hong Kong are too far away. One is in the Yangtze River Delta and the other is the Pearl River Delta. There is no competitive relationship in the provincial regional economy.completely different.However, from a greater geographical perspective, the positioning of the international financial center and international shipping center promoted by Shanghai has a direct competitive relationship with Hong Kong.
From the perspective of development paths, Shanghai and Hong Kong are even more unable to bypass the two cities.After the Opium War, the two cities opened their ports during the same period, and their development was promoted by the major trend of Mainland China. The changes in China's development path can be seen from the evolution of the Shanghai -Hong Kong dual cities.To find their future trends, they must first return to history.
1. The historic frame of Hong Kong and Shanghai
On the occasion of the bureaucracy of the monarchy of the monarchy in the late Qing Dynasty, under the impact of the modern European wind and rain, an important historic frame in Hong Kong and Shanghai rewritten the future destiny of the two cities.
In 1842, China and Britain signed the Nanjing Treaty, asking China to open five places including Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo, and Shanghai for business ports to cut Hong Kong Island.At that time, why did the British choose a humid land and the islands of the border as a business port and a place of cutting?
On November 29, 1845, Su Song Taibing prepared Musan and British Consul Bakhl to announce the Shanghai Land Articles of Association, considering the local situation in Shanghai, and designated the land north of Yanbi, south of Lijiazhuang, quasi -lease and British businessmenFor the building houses and residence, for the Qing officials, this place is outside the Shanghai county. It is a barren land. Except for a small number of farmland, the rest are humid land, and the stream is vertical and horizontal.
However, the British did not look at it that way. As early as 1842, when Bafar came to inspect, he believed that this place was riverside and widened, which was conducive to trade.Specifically, Wan Yong stated that Bafar selected the three places to choose this place: First, the Huangpu River in the east, the Suzhou River in the north, near the neighboring county, the inside can go deep into the hinterland of China through the Yangtze River.The second is to rely on the Huangpu River, the channel is wide, there is ample coastline construction pier to anchor commercial ships to meet the freight needs; third, the river warships are traveling on the river to protect their business and living safety.
At that time, Shanghai was the center of Jianghai Lianyong, and the only city that could be transported by Jianghai.This location in Shanghai means that before aviation replaced shipping, as long as the trade connection between China and the world continues, the greater the amount of trade between China and foreign countries, the more important the status of Shanghai will be.At that time, the differences between the perspectives of the Qing and British officials at that time were here.
After the Opium War, Britain only used Hong Kong as a base for the British Expeditionary Force and the British trading institution, rather than trade ports.This requirement means that the site needs to be wide in Hong Kong.In addition, the opium trade at that time was the most important element of the British. Due to the mainly through the Guangzhou trade, Victoria Harbor between the Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula became the best solution.Subsequently, Hong Kong's first governor defined Hong Kong as a free trade port, built Hong Kong with Victoria Harbor as the center, and developed its maritime trade in the Far East as the base.These geographical characteristics make Hong Kong the most important re -export trading base in Asia, and it has given birth to the ship industry.
From a geographical point of view, Hong Kong is located in the border of China. It is a small fishing village that is not allowed, and there are many places in this plot (many prosperous plots are made from reclamation).Under the original system of domestic trade and agricultural production, it is impossible to have room for development in Hong Kong.Only in the international trading system, Hong Kong's deep -water port and its connection with the Pearl River Delta region have made Hong Kong more room for development.
Before and after the Opium War, the scale of Shanghai was not large, with about 200,000 to 300,000, and administrative attributable to Songjiang Mansion.According to Qi Meiqin's research on the Qing Dynasty's discussion system, the report on the reporting tax of each disclosure in 1795 shows that there are only more than 70,000 Jiang Customs in Shanghai (Kuping Two, the same below).) (More than 1.17 million), not as Wuhu Pass (more than 230,000).The foundation of Hong Kong is even worse. In the eyes of the British, it is a small, deserted, unhygienic, worthless and worse than Africa's Sierra Leone because it is even more unsanitary.When Hong Kong opened the port, there were only 7,450 people on Hong Kong Island.
In the 50 years after the Opium War, Britain had a direct impact on the governance of Hong Kong and Shanghai, but the apparent power structure was different.
Shanghai is a business port. Britain (and later France, the United States, etc.) can only rent land in Shanghai. On the land leased, it is governed by the Western model by the Qing court.The subsequent institutional evolution allowed Shanghai to become the concession in the concession of many countries.In 1863, the concession in the United Kingdom and the United States in Shanghai was formally merged, known as the public concession, and was managed by the Municipal Committee.
The power of the Ministry of Industry and Bureau has expanded several times. The execution department covers all aspects of business groups, police, health, education and other aspects. It also undertakes administrative affairs such as municipal construction, public security, taxation, and part of the court's functions.The Ministry of Industry Bureau was established in Shanghai.
The public concession in Shanghai is a unique practice and has become a system of common public governance (some people have promoted the merger of the French Concession and the public concession, but due to the opposition from the French government, the two concessions of the public concession and the French Concession in Shanghai were eventually formed in Shanghai).Professor Ma Debin believes that since the Shanghai public concession is jointly managed, it will not reflect the interests of a certain country.Essence
The institutional evolution of Hong Kong is different from Shanghai.At that time, Hong Kong was the British colony, and the British king was the highest ruler of Hong Kong. He directly released the power structure of the Emperor's Sales and the Royal Training Order.In terms of personnel, the Governor is the full authority of the British king. He hosted the administrative and legislature of Hong Kong and in charge of Hong Kong's military.There is only one country in Hong Kong. British power is not restricted by other countries. Hong Kong's autonomous environment is far worse than Shanghai.
Nevertheless, the evolution of the system of Hong Kong is still desirable. British colonies emphasize effective governance. They are concerned about low cost and high efficiency, which means that they must respect the customs and habits of the locals and give local residents' power.At the same time, in the field of politics and legal, Britain also transplanted the local politics and legal system as much as possible to Hong Kong.
It can be said that the historic frame of Hong Kong and Shanghai profoundly affects their future development direction.When China's development was connected to the track of international trade, the fate of the two cities of Shanghai and Hong Kong was immediately changed.
