This thesis proceeds from a pluralistic perspective in the belief that there is a need to search for a theoretical reinforcement of Hong Kong's quest for autonomy and human rights under the "one country, two systems" formula. It focuses on the question of how the protection of human rights in Hong Kong (a) could and (b) should be treated under Chinese sovereignty and how that treatment should be related to philosophies of legal and cultural pluralism. The goal is to work through two sets of China-centered discourses abort pluralism and then see how they help inform the principles and the institutional practice with respect to Hong Kong. The first discourse, which is dealt with in Chapter Two, might be called "external" legal pluralism---namely, the (evolving) arguments China has made with respect to the need of other states and the international community to respect the particularities of China in the realm of international human rights. The second discourse, which is the subject of Chapter Three, examines how China has dealt with its own internal diversity, in terms of law, political practice and embedded philosophy. The idea is then to work from a critical account of China's approach to diversity in these two contexts to the specific normative and institutional issues that circulate within the "one country, two systems" concept relating to Hong Kong. Chapters Four and Five deal with the preservation of autonomy and human rights in Hong Kong under Chinese sovereignty. They examine, at historical and conceptual levels, the essence, scope and implications of the "one country, two systems" formula and explore how a reconceptualization of that formula could help lend normative support to a robust, separate human rights regime within Hong Kong.
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