Table Of ContentPolitical Development
in Hong Kong
Hong Kong University Press thanks Xu Bing for writing the Press’s name in his Square Word
Calligraphy for the covers of its books. For further information, see p. iv.
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Political Development
in Hong Kong
State, Political Society, and Civil Society
Ma Ngok
Hong Kong University Press
14/F Hing Wai Centre
7 Tin Wan Praya Road
Aberdeen
Hong Kong
© Ma Ngok 2007
Hardback ISBN 978-962-209-809-1
Paperback ISBN 978-962-209-810-7
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
Secure On-line Ordering
http:// www.hkupress.org
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Printed and bound by United League Graphic & Printing Co. Ltd., in Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong University Press is honoured that Xu Bing, whose art explores the
complex themes of language across cultures, has written the Press’s name in his
Square Word Calligraphy. This signals our commitment to cross-cultural thinking
and the distinctive nature of our English-language books published in China.
“At first glance, Square Word Calligraphy appears to be nothing more unusual
than Chinese characters, but in fact it is a new way of rendering English words
in the format of a square so they resemble Chinese characters. Chinese viewers
expect to be able to read Square Word Calligraphy but cannot. Western viewers,
however are surprised to find they can read it. Delight erupts when meaning is
unexpectedly revealed.”
— Britta Erickson, The Art of Xu Bing
Contents
Preface vii
Acronyms and Abbreviations ix
Chapter One Political Development in Hong Kong 1
PART A The State 15
Chapter Two The Nature of the Colonial State 17
Chapter Three Passages to the Post-Colonial State 33
Chapter Four The Post-Colonial State 57
PART B Political Society and Political Development 93
Chapter Five The Legislature 97
Chapter Six Political Parties 135
PART C Civil Society and Democratization 159
Chapter Seven Encroachments on Civil Society 163
Chapter Eight Civil Society in Self-Defense 199
Chapter Nine An Institutionalist’s Conclusion 221
vi Contents
Appendices
1. Major Quangos Established since the 1980s 233
2. Major Judicial Review Cases, 2002–05 246
3. Examples of Criticisms from the Audit Commission, 1998–2003 248
4. Major Controversial Events Related to Civil Liberties after 1997 251
5. Coalitions, United Fronts, and Alliances, 1998–2004 257
Notes 269
Bibliography 281
Index 301
Preface
THE IDEA OF WRITING THIS book started on December 13, 2001. On that day, Tung
Chee-hwa announced his bid to run for a second term of five years for the post
of Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In the
Convention Center Auditorium, packed with business tycoons, selected social
leaders and pro-Beijing elites, his campaign speech was frequently interrupted
by thunderous applauses. Business leaders, pro-Beijing politicians, and film and
sports stars took turns to get on to the stage to sing praises for Tung’s
performance. Weeks later he was declared elected the second Chief Executive of
Hong Kong without contest, after 714 of the 800 Election Committee members,
representing the most influential business and professional groups in the territory,
nominated him for a second term. No other local politicians seriously tried to
challenge Tung for his second term.
In the week following the campaign speech, the Hong Kong Transition
Project released opinion polls that showed only 18% of Hong Kong people liked
to see a second term of Tung, with 61% disapproving. The difference between
the self-trumpeted popularity in the Convention Center Auditorium on December
13, 2001 and the public feelings could not have been more striking. Unpopular
autocrats can rule for long periods of time in dictatorships, and government
propaganda always do not reflect public sentiments, but few non-democracies
allowed free media or free academic research to adequately expose the frailty of
the government’s propaganda as in the case of Hong Kong.
The above episode reflected the huge gap between the state elites and societal
sentiments in Hong Kong, which drove me to think and re-think how far state-
society relations had transformed over the years. My personal impression, through
living and researching in Hong Kong, was that after 1997 the official picture
presented by the government, the rhetoric of the elites, the “Hong Kong” reflected
in the mass media, was further and further away from what people on the street
actually thought and experienced, which posed a root problem of the governance
for the SAR. This, being an impression, is not necessarily scientific. This book
represents a more serious attempt to study systematically the changing state-society
relations in Hong Kong in recent years.
This book is the result of three years of research and writing from 2003 to
2005. It is also a culmination of my personal thinking on various issues related to
viii Preface
political development in Hong Kong. As a researcher on Hong Kong politics in
the last ten years, I always find numerous interesting political issues and research
questions unexplored. With limited capacities and resources, I can only touch
on some of these issues in this book; other issues are left for fellow scholars to
explore, provide answers, and ask more questions. As most of the text was finished
before Tung Chee-hwa stepped down in March 2005, this book does not effectively
deal with the new politics of the Donald Tsang era. Yet I remain convinced that
most of the issues I raised in this book cannot be solved merely by a change in
personnel, as they point to more fundamental issues of governing philosophy and
institutional reforms.
Many people have a hand in the limited contributions of this book. Over
the years numerous teachers and cohorts have enlightened me in my course of
academic pursuit, and it is impossible for me to thank all of them one by one
here. Researchers and scholars on Hong Kong and political practitioners, through
years of interaction and discussion with me, provide significant stimulations for
my research ideas and thoughts. The following research assistants carried out
different research tasks, without which I would not be able to complete the book:
Chan Kin Kai, Helena Kwong Hoi Yan, Alice Yeung Lai Shan, Yip Ling Yan,
Carmen Yu Ka Man, and Yu To Ming. Thanks are due to the interviewees, many
of them busy political practitioners, whose valuable views and information are vital
to parts of this book. The most old-fashioned disclaimer still applies: for all the
inadequacies, limitations and problems of this book, the responsibility is solely
mine.
Acronyms and Abbreviations
AA Airport Authority
ADPL Association for Democracy and People’s Livelihood
ASPDMC Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China
ATV Asia Television Limited
BA Broadcast Authority
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
BBS Bauhinia Star
BLCC Basic Law Consultation Committee
BLDC Basic Law Drafting Committee
BORO Bill of Rights Ordinance
CAB Constitutional Affairs Bureau
CCP Chinese Communist Party
CE Chief Executive
CFA Court of Final Appeal
CGLO Central Government Liaison Office
CHRF Civil Human Rights Front
CP Citizens’ Party
CPPCC Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference
CRC Cooperative Resource Center
CRoP Committee on Rules of Procedure
CSO Civil Society Organization
CSSA Comprehensive Social Security Allowance
CTU Confederation of Trade Unions
CUHK Chinese University of Hong Kong
DA District Advisors
DAB Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong
DB District Board
DDO Disability Discrimination Ordinance
