Hong Kong enjoyed worldwide media attention in 1997 for its political changeover from British to Chinese rule. But aside from recent events, what do people really know about this fascinating and dynamic place? This curriculum unit introduces students to Hong Kong in the context of its role in an economically interdependent world.

Lesson 1 of this curriculum will introduce students to the geography and colonial history of Hong Kong. This lesson will set the context for the entire unit by focusing attention on Hong Kong's role in the economically interdependent relationship between England and China in the 1800s. A brief slide presentation will illustrate the dramatic growth and changes that Hong Kong has undergone over the past 150 years.

Lesson 2 focuses on the tourist industry, a crucial component of the service industries which propel 80 percent of the Hong Kong economy. In part 1 of this lesson, students will critique a video produced by the Hong Kong Tourist Association. Students will learn how to examine the video's content to determine the importance of perspective and bias. Following the video will be a student-narrated slide show based on a series of images depicting an alternative perspective of Hong Kong. Part 2 of this lesson examines the tourist industry in greater depth by engaging students in a simulation in which they become tourists traveling to Hong Kong. It is the nature of the tourist industry to be greatly susceptible to fluctuations in other countries' economies. By participating in the simulation and experiencing an unexpected economic catastrophe, students will gain a clearer perspective on the precarious position of Hong Kong's tourist industry relative to the state of the world economy and world events.

Lesson 3 uses a readers' theater in the format of a roundtable discussion to highlight different points of view regarding the 1997 handover of power from British to Chinese rule in Hong Kong. The roundtable discussion includes the perspectives of 10 individuals from Britain, the United States, China, and Hong Kong, including President Clinton, Queen Elizabeth, and former Hong Kong governor Christopher Patten. The culminating activity involves the creation and publication of a newspaper that focuses on this event. Following the readers' theater is a press conference where the rest of the students, acting as reporters, ask questions of the roundtable discussants and gather information for their news story.

Unit Goals

In this curriculum guide, students will:

• study historical, economic, social, and political issues relevant to contemporary Hong Kong
• begin to understand the concept and importance of global economic interdependence
• critically analyze a given source of information by recognizing, identifying, and understanding biases and perspectives
• work effectively in small and large groups