Ch. 1. Understanding the autonomy of Hong Kong: looking beyond formal institutions / Ray Yep -- Ch. 2. Loose ties that bound: British Empire, colonial autonomy and Hong Kong / Robert Bickers -- Ch. 3. Autonomy and the origins of Hong Kong's low-cost housing and permanent squatter resettlement programmes / Gavin Ure -- Ch. 4. Fiscal freedom and the making of Hong Kong's capitalist society / Leo F. Goodstat -- Ch. 5. Revisiting the Golden Era of MacLehose and the dynamics of social reforms / Ray Yep and Tai-Lok Lui -- Ch. 6. Central-provincial relations amid greater centralization in China / Lam Tao-Chiu -- Ch. 7. "One country, two systems" and its antagonists in Tibet and Taiwan / Ho-fung Hung and Huei-ying Kuo -- Ch. 8. Macao's "one country, two systems": high autonomy or intervention? / Eilo Yu Wing-Yat -- Ch. 9. Negotiating democracy and "high autonomy": the 2010 political reform / Ma Ngok -- Ch. 10. Judicial autonomy in Hong Kong / Benny Tai.

Local autonomy is a complex and often contentious issue in many countries, not least because the situation often involves a process of continuous (re)negotiation. Moreover, the actual power relationship is defined not only by legal permissibility but also by such other factors as varying political perceptions, economic interests and previous encounters between the centre and periphery. Hong Kong is a good illustration of the intricacies of the dynamic relationship in a Chinese context, as the territory has a long history of pursuing its own path, both in colonial times and since 1997.