The Role of a Political Interest Group in Democratization of China and Hong Kong: the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (HKASPDM) is a cross-border political interest group advocating for democratization in both mainland China and Hong Kong. It was involved in the bold rescue of mainland democrats out of the PRC shortly after the June 1989 Tiananmen crackdown; it constantly exerts pressure on the PRC government to release its political prisoners; it has been influencing the Hong Kong government on the scope and pace of democratization; it communicates with and subsidizes overseas Chinese groups supportive of democratic reforms in China; it is persistently educating the younger generations of Hong Kong and most importantly mainland visitors to Hong Kong on the 1989 Tiananmen tragedy; and its supporters have attempted to cross the border of Hong Kong to Macao to influence the policy of the Chinese government toward political prisoners. As a political interest group based in Hong Kong with cross-border influences on both the mainland and Macao, the Alliance has been making full use of the available political space and freedom of assembly in Hong Kong to achieve their ultimate objective of having a ‘democratic China’. Its existence in the HKSAR is an indication of a certain degree of political tolerance by both the Hong Kong government and Beijing, which have to be very careful of the need to maintain an image of the feasible formula of ‘one country, two systems’ in Hong Kong.     

Civil Society in Self-Defense: the struggle against national security legislation in Hong Kong

The political struggle against national security legislation in Hong Kong led to an unprecedented awakening of civil society against the state and the largest indigenous movement in Hong Kong history. The proposed laws by the Hong Kong government were seen as overbroad and ill-defined, and the government's disregard of public opinion led to an outcry from various social sectors. The Catholic Church, legal professionals and the press played special roles in opinion leadership and mobilization in the struggle. The mass protest created an internal split of the governing elite and forced the postponement of the legislation. It also encouraged local participation, re-fueled an ailing democracy movement, and put democratic reforms onto the political agenda of Hong Kong.     

From Fortress Hong Kong to Hong Kong–Shenzhen Metropolis: the emergence of government-led strategy for regional integration in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong government was less active in regional integration before 2003. This study explores what conditions have contributed to the shifting of the Hong Kong government's stance on Hong Kong–Shenzhen integration from protectionism to cooperation since 2003. In addition to secondary data, a questionnaire survey and interviews were conducted in this study. Various external and internal economic, political and social factors that have contributed to the emergence of government-led strategy for regional integration in Hong Kong are analyzed. It is found that regional integration is facilitated by consensus building among the government, political parties, other interest groups and residents within Hong Kong.     

香港特区政府的信息公开管理

本文主要介绍了香港特区政府的《公开资料守则》与信息公开的政策、机构、管理措施和内容等,包括一般的信息披露以及政府新闻处的公共信息服务和政府的财政透明;并分析了特区政府信息电子化和网络化的成功之道。本文认为,政府信息公开是一个一举多得的政策措施,而香港特区政府信息公开的范围之广、信息公开的渠道之多都令人叹为观止,这不仅有利于政府内部的统一和协调,而且有利于政府工作的顺利开展,并且在本地和国际上树立了一个透明、廉洁、高效、负责的服务型政府形象。简而言之,透明政府的建设源于政府与社会在信息公开方面达成共识,从而使政府能够自觉自愿接受社会监督。     

How Political Accountability Undermines Public Service Ethics: the case of Hong Kong

Hong Kong's Principal Officials Accountability System (POAS) aims to create a coherent political leadership within the government whose members are responsible for policy decisions. POAS also aspires to better protect the professional integrity of a neutral public service. Since the implementation of POAS in 2002, the objective of enhancing political accountability has come into conflict with the protection of the integrity of the public service. The reason for this is twofold. First, a critical analysis has revealed major institutional defects in POAS, which have undermined the integrity of the public service. Second, a close examination of some recent incidents has established that the implementation of POAS under an increasingly politicized environment has undermined some core values traditionally nurtured by Hong Kong's public service.     

香港的政党与政党政治

在港英政府 2 0世纪 80年代开始的政治体制改革中 ,随着选举政治的兴起 ,香港的政党破土而出 ,并逐渐发展起来。香港进入特区时代以后 ,政党的格局趋于稳定。随着政党的形成和发展 ,香港的政党政治也逐渐稳定下来 ,形成香港特有的政党政治。政党和政党政治的发展 ,又改变了香港的政治生态 ,使香港的政治发展出现新的面貌。     

A NEW DAWN FOR DEMOCRACY

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) concluded its seventh election of the Legislative Council (LegCo) on December 20. Ninety elected lawmakers from a total of 153 candidates, with different backgrounds and across the political spectrum, make up the first legislature established since the region's electoral system was improved in March. The election is considered momentous in the development of democracy with Hong Kong characteristics. Under the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR, the main functions of the LegCo are to enact laws, examine and approve budgets, taxation and public expenditure, and monitor the work of the government. It also has the power to endorse the appointment and removal of the judges of the Court of Final Appeal and the chief judge of the High Court.     

The Hong Kong Policy of the People's Republic of China, 1949-1997

China's policy toward Hong Kong in the period 1949-1997 was primarily driven by utilitarian calculations of national interests and the interests of the Chinese Communist Party. The Hong Kong policy of China, as an integral part of its foreign policy, was distinctive in that ideological fervor and nationalist passions had limited influence. The goals to be achieved by the Hong Kong policy remained unchanged throughout the period; the strategies adopted, however, changed in accordance with the changing international situation and the national interests as defined by the Chinese leaders. The primary goals of the Hong Kong policy were to secure a less threatening external political environment for China and to make calculated use of Hong Kong for China's economic development. By tolerating Hong Kong as a British colony, China also depended on Britain to control the potentially threatening anti-Communist Chinese population there. The 'over-dependence' on the British to control the Chinese people in Hong Kong on the eve of Hong Kong's reversion to China, however, alienated the Hong Kong people as well as impeded the formation of local political leaders in the territory. As a result, the acquisition of Hong Kong by China in 1997 has not been accompanied by political rapport between the Chinese government and the Hong Kong people, thus sowing seeds for lingering friction between them.     

Business as usual: The dynamics of government‐business relations in the Hong Kong special administrative region

This is an attempt to evaluate the implications of Hong Kong's political transition to post‐colonial rule for economic governance in the SAR beyond the ‘Beijing versus Hong Kong’ perspective. The article examines the changing government‐business dynamics in Hong Kong after the reversion by focusing on three inter‐related dimensions: economic ideology; institutional and policy framework; and the new political environment in post‐colonial Hong Kong. By challenging the assertion that Hong Kong is returning to the pre‐Patten colonial order under Chinese management, it argues that economic governance in Hong Kong has always been more complex than has been characterized in the literature. A conceptual framework incorporating the dynamic interplay of domestic and international factors is needed to comprehend the changing nature of government‐business relationships in the SAR.     

Socio-political Embeddings of South Asian Ethnic Minorities' Economic Situations in Hong Kong

This paper aims to develop a better understanding of the economic situations of South Asian minorities in Hong Kong. A theoretical perspective emphasizing the embedding of economic behavior within social relationships and socio-political processes will be employed. This study will examine how three macro-historical processes, namely, colonization, industrialization and globalization, induce the different configurations of three structural factors, namely, government policy, societal reception and co-ethnic community, affecting the economic wellbeing of South Asian minorities in Hong Kong. The authors argue that Hong Kong Chinese and South Asians coexisted peacefully without major conflict or discrimination during the early colonial age. However, when the colonial government started to develop unique Hong Kong Chinese identity and as the HK Chinese became wealthier, well-educated and successful, ethnic tensions began to occur. In this era of globalization, Hong Kong encounters the serious problem of economic restructuring, and the continuous inflows of migrants from developing countries engender keen competition with lower-class Hong Kong citizens for low-end service jobs. South Asians are no longer enjoying positive societal reception from the Hong Kong Chinese. The co-ethnic community factor for Hong Kong South Asians has not significantly changed since the pre-war years. Their sub-communities' internal resources may secure their economic wellbeing through mutual assistance. However, under a very harsh external environment, whether sufficient resources can still be continuously drawn remains questionable.     

Hard Rules and Soft Constraints: regulating conflict of interest in China

The initial paragraphs of this article outline the broad themes of this special section, drawing attention to changing perceptions and definitions of corruption and to corruption prevention practices in Greater China. The remainder of the article focuses on a particular theme: the relationship between conflicts of interest and corruption in both theoretical terms and in its application in mainland China. Conflicts of interest are conceptualized as the incompatibility between the public interest associated with official duties and interests derived from the private domain. Such conflicts do not always necessarily lead to corruption and may be distinguished from it. By examining the way in which they are regulated in China, we argue that although an intricate web of rules has been established, regulations alone cannot guarantee ethically sound behaviour if there is no supportive value framework of like-minded civil servants. Rules require interpretation and if this discretion means that civil servants choose to follow an administrative culture and personal values that conflict with the regulations, they will have little effect. Hard rules may mean soft constraints.     

香港社会中民粹主义的影响、成因及消解

香港社会中的民粹主义给香港政治社会发展带来很多消极影响,增加了特别行政区政府依法施政的难度,妨碍香港政治发展的进程,并引起香港一些居民与中央政府的对抗.香港社会中的民粹主义由民生等经济问题而引发,并因选举政治而加剧.消解民粹主义,需要香港社会权力体系和财产体系的分配应照顾各阶层的利益,必须保障草根阶层的基本权利；政府必须兼顾社会精英和普罗大众的利益,对两者的矛盾应加以调和,促成两者的妥协.     

Bond Market Integration: the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong

This paper seeks to examine the integration of the evolving bond markets in the Chinese Mainland (CM) and Hong Kong (HK). To tap the international pool of capital, the CM government and CM enterprises have issued foreign currency bonds in HK and other developed markets. Since 1998 offshore CM bonds offered to the public have not been denominated in HK dollars probably because of concerns over the stability of HK's linked exchange rate and the differential credit ratings of the two economies. Even though HK has become increasingly well equipped to handle the clearing, settlement and custody of local and foreign currency bonds across its borders, it needs to continue to lobby for and attract CM government and corporate issues of foreign currency bonds (and Rmb bonds, if this were to be permitted) if it is to establish itself as a regional bond centre in Asia.     

香港警察执法规范化对内地公安机关的启示

加强公安机关执法规范化建设是践行"三项建设"的重要环节。目前我国公安机关在执法工作中仍存在着执法理念不正确、执法程序不规范、执法素质不高、执法监督不到位等问题。从比较法的视角,从执法理念、规章制度、警队管理、执法监督四个方面介绍我国香港地区警察规范化执法的基本状况,通过比较分析,为我国内地公安机关执法规范化建设的未来发展提供宝贵的经验借鉴。     

Stock market integration in Hong Kong and China

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange currently ranks sixth in terms of trading volumes in the world while China's fledgling securities industry at Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges combined is barely more than 7 years old. With 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, the securities industries of the two sides ought to integrate into one market. However, the Basic Law governing Hong Kong maintains unchanged British Common Law system as well as the life style of Hong Kong capitalist society, at least for the next 50 years. To understand how the stock exchanges operate under such a situation and how they cooperate in the future is the theme throughout this paper. This paper first describes the market backgrounds separately in Hong Kong and China. It intends to answer how, what and why China needs Hong Kong market and how, what and why Hong Kong, at a different level, needs China's. Then it deals with the interactions or cooperation in the primary market operations. The paper also deals with broader issues such as the RMB convertibility with respect to the integration of the stock exchanges and tries to forecast the future trend in the regional as well as international perspectives. It concludes that as part of the ‘one country, two systems’, the SEHK will be stronger as it has an added value to China's financial window to the world.     

Public Perceptions of Income Inequality in Hong Kong: trends,causes and implications

This article examines the patterns and changes in public perceptions of domestic income inequality in Hong Kong in the past two decades and explains individual variations in these perceptions. It found that the perceived seriousness of income disparities had been persistently high, while the perceived unjustness of income disparities showed a fluctuating trend. Our findings lent partial support to the structural position thesis that the privileged groups are less likely than the underprivileged groups to consider existing income disparities to be serious and unjust. Nonetheless, the popular understanding of poverty is still biased towards ‘individual’ explanations, and this perhaps explains why the government is less willing to tackle the economic and political foundations of poverty in Hong Kong.     

Housing Management and the Comprehensive Housing Model in Hong Kong: A case study of colonial influence

This article contains an examination of the way in which the largely British model of professional comprehensive housing management became important in Hong Kong. It shows how a comparatively small number of pioneers, mainly women who were followers of the principles of Octavia Hill, a philanthropic social reformer who developed her ideas in 19th century London, had a considerable influence in the very different environment of Hong Kong. An examination of the comparatively small amount of literature on the housing management profession is followed by a detailed analysis of the way in which the housing management profession has developed in Hong Kong. A review of the origin of public housing programmes in Hong Kong highlights the influence which housing professionals had when the housing administration was radically restructured at the time of the formation of the Hong Kong Housing Authority in the early 1970s.     

中国内地与香港刑事司法协助原则浅探

中国内地与香港特别行政区在刑事法律制度方面存在的重大差异以及两法域间尚未签订双边刑事司法协助协议的现状,为一些犯罪分子逃避法律制裁提供了可乘之机.在"一国两制"条件下.探讨两法域间开展刑事司法协助过程中存在的问题,确立两法域认同的基本原则、"死刑犯不移交"原则和公共秩序保留原则,对于指导司法协助实务、依法惩治犯罪具有重要的理论和实践意义.     

香港警方巡逻体制的构成及特点

香港警方对社会面治安的防范和控制主要是通过开展不间断的巡逻来实现的。文章介绍了香港警方的三支巡逻力量及开展治安巡逻的基本情况,并重点对其巡逻体制和勤务运行机制的实战、高效的特点进行了分析,对内地公安机关的巡逻勤务改革有着很高的借鉴价值。     

‘Three Chinas’ and international organizations after 1997

This article analyzes the effects of the transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China in 1997 on the participation of Hong Kong and Taiwan in international organizations. It identifies the conditions under which China tolerates co‐existence with Taiwan as members of eleven intergovernmental organizations as of 1996. It concludes with two observations: one, international organizations are not monolithic entities; two, although China has overwhelming influence over Hong Kong's participation in these organizations, it depends also on how the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is going to manage its relations with China.