2021 HKDSE History Practice Paper | DSE Mock

Source A is adapted from a Hong Kong Government Annual Report published in 1954:

'The influx of hundreds of thousands of immigrants has strained our water supply, housing, and sanitary services to the limit... Furthermore, the United Nations embargo on trade with China has severely crippled our traditional entrepot trade, forcing us to seek new means of survival through local industrial development...'

According to Source A, identify three major difficulties that Hong Kong faced in the early 1950s.

Source B is adapted from a memorial submitted by a Qing official in 1898:

'Our civil service examinations still focus entirely on the bagu (eight-legged) essays, which are completely useless for understanding foreign affairs or modern science. Conservative ministers continuously block any attempt to construct railroads or open mines, claiming they disturb feng shui and ancestral traditions. Without changing these deep-seated mindsets, no administrative reform can succeed.'

According to Source B, identify and explain three obstacles to China's modernization in the late Qing period.

Source C is adapted from a Hong Kong government consultative document on local administration published in 1980:

'We propose to establish District Boards across Hong Kong in order to provide greater opportunities for public participation in local affairs. This initiative will bridge the communication gap between the government and residents, ensure that local grievances are heard directly by administrators, and foster a stronger sense of belonging among citizens who have long felt alienated from administrative decisions.'

According to Source C, identify three objectives of the Hong Kong government in establishing District Boards.

Source D is adapted from a German newspaper editorial published in June 1919:

'This treaty is not a peace of justice, but a dictate of revenge. By stripping Germany of all her overseas colonies, forcing her to accept total guilt for the outbreak of the war, and demanding astronomical reparations that will permanently crush our economic future, the Allied powers have planted the seeds of future hatred rather than securing lasting peace in Europe.'

According to Source D, identify three reasons why the German newspaper criticized the Treaty of Versailles.

Source A: An excerpt from a Hong Kong government annual report in 1958:
'The rapid expansion of our textile and garment industries has surprised many overseas markets. Despite the lack of raw materials and natural water resources, Hong Kong's entrepreneurs and hard-working refugee workforce have turned this barren rock into a manufacturing hub, exporting goods to Europe and North America.'

Question: What can you infer from Source A about the factors contributing to Hong Kong's industrial growth in the 1950s? Support your answer with clues from the Source.

Source B: An excerpt from an imperial edict issued by the Qing court in 1901:
'The defects of our administration have reached an extreme point. We must now adopt the strong points of foreign countries to make up for our deficiencies. Western science, military training, and administrative organization must be studied, but the fundamental principles of morality and Confucian values must remain unchanged.'

Question: What can you infer from Source B regarding the Qing court's attitude towards reforms in 1901? Support your answer with clues from the Source.

Source C: An excerpt from a speech by Deng Xiaoping during his Southern Tour in 1992:
'The Shenzhen Special Economic Zone has developed very rapidly. This success has proven that the policy of establishing Special Economic Zones is completely correct. If we do not reform, if we do not open up, and if we do not develop the economy, we will only find ourselves in a dead-end street.'

Question: What can you infer from Source C about Deng Xiaoping's view on the necessity of economic reform in China? Support your answer with clues from the Source.

Source D: An excerpt from a speech by French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau at the Paris Peace Conference (1919):
'America is far away, protected by the ocean. Even Great Britain has her fleet to shield her. But France lies directly next to Germany. The blood of our sons has soaked our soil. We must have security, and Germany must be made unable to strike again.'

Question: What can you infer from Source D about France's primary objective at the Paris Peace Conference? Support your answer with clues from the Source.

To what extent was external assistance more important than local initiatives in promoting Hong Kong's industrialisation from the 1950s to the 1970s?

To what extent did the political reforms in Hong Kong during the 1980s democratise its government system?

To what extent was the Self-Strengthening Movement (1861-1895) a failure in modernising China?

To what extent was the League of Nations successful in maintaining international peace in the period 1920-1939?

To what extent did the rapid development of entrepot trade in Hong Kong from the late 1940s to the 1980s depend on external political factors rather than internal economic initiatives? Explain your answer with reference to the period 1946-1989.

‘The constitutional reforms introduced by the Hong Kong government in the 1980s and 1990s prepared Hong Kong well for the post-1997 political transition.’ Do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

Assess the relative importance of internal weaknesses and external pressures in causing the failure of late Qing modernisation reforms (1861-1911).

Compare and contrast the economic development strategies of the People's Republic of China during the Mao Zedong era (1949-1976) and the Deng Xiaoping era (1978-1997). To what extent did Deng's reforms represent a complete departure from Mao's economic legacy?

‘The peace settlements after the First World War sowed the seeds of the Second World War.’ Do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer with reference to Europe in the inter-war period (1919-1939).

To what extent was the alliance system the primary cause of the outbreak of the First World War in 1914? Explain your answer.

Analyze how Meiji Japan (1868-1912) successfully transformed itself into a modern power, and discuss the negative consequences of this modernisation on Asia by the early twentieth century.