Conclusion

As Hong Kong and China continue to adopt different approaches in e-Commerce legislations, the lack of harmonization is likely to hinder the cross-border e-Commerce activities. With the boundless nature of the Internet, e-Commerce sets foot in any place in the world. The activities in one country or jurisdiction have instantaneous and simultaneous results in another. In addition, there are intriguing forces between countries with one influencing the others and vice versa. The gap between Hong Kong and China will be narrowed as China continues to open its market.

From a general perspective, Chinese government tends to set up guidelines or regulations as means of control. Access to the Internet and censorship of web contents are good examples. Although the government recognizes the merits of information technology, it fears that the unrestricted spread of idea and knowledge would subvert its dictatorship. To China, national security is more important than facilitating e-Commerce. In order to scrutinize any hidden flow of state secrets, China imposed domestic regulation of encryption. This, however, violates the original intention of encryption products.

Since e-Commerce covers many areas, different state organs impose and put forward guidelines or regulations concerning e-Commerce. Apart from central bureaus, local governments also set up their own regulations. In fact, local moves faster than the central government. For fast developing regions like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, e-Commerce businesses proliferate and local developments or regulations may come before the central government lay down specific policies. Hence, the central government has to interfere with the local bodies and this may lead to problems like integration.

Like the "one country, two systems" principle, Hong Kong and China have taken very different paths when it comes to regulate e-Commerce legislations. Hong Kong has taken a progressive approach. The Electronic Transactions Ordinance is based on the Western legal tradition and emphasized such principles as freedom of contract and economic liberty. Proper regulations in other areas like personal data privacy, domain name registration and telecommunications have fostered a nurturing environment for e-Commerce growth. e-Taxation remains as a key issue and both governments have not taken any active measures.