Politicians and decolonization of Hong Kong

This article discusses the nature of political leadership in Hong Kong in general and the dilemmas facing politicians in the process of decolonization in particular. The politicians are certainly not performing “public service” as in a colonial administration. They are competing for political power and control in the government during the transition of Hong Kong from a British colony to a Chinese Special Administrative Region. Some politicians adopt a mobilization style of leadership to draw public support; some maintain an elitist style to preserve the status quo; some use a confrontational style to push for a democratic government and to resist Chinese intervention in the internal affairs of Hong Kong; some take a cooperative and compromising approach in resolving conflicts and dealing with China; and some attempt to adopt a moderate style by emphasizing rational and workable solutions to political dilemmas. The dilemmas of transition include: (1) the choice between democracy and conservatism; (2) the proper relationship between Hong Kong and China after 1997; (3) the conflict as to whom the politicians represent: the Hong Kong people or the Chinese leaders. The choice of any two polarized positions in the dilemmas will result in devastating consequences for Hong Kong. The task of the politicians is therefore to balance, rather than to accentuate, the divergent tensions between the antagonistic political forces. In the final analysis, the politicians will have to play the role of balancer between the future sovereign master and various political actors.     

“Holding Nationalist Flags Against Red Flags” —Anti-American Icons in Contemporary China and their Reconstruction by the Public (1999–2003)

Focusing on the construction and reconstruction process of anti-American icons in contemporary China, this paper compares the patterns of interactions between the Chinese government, intellectuals and general public during four events centering on China-US relations: the 1999 Belgrade embassy bombing, the early 2001 plane collision incident, the September 11 attacks, and the 2003 war in Iraq. The article suggests that the proliferation of anti-American icons in China does not only point towards the existence of anti-foreign ideologies. It is also a channel for different players in China to advance their personal and group interests. As long as tolerance from Beijing is signalled, much nationalist rhetoric is a coded way of directing limited dissent at the Chinese state itself, but how exactly the Chinese public hold the “nationalist flags” — which is allowed by the party–state — against the “red flags” of the same regime remains relatively unexplored. Filling up such an intellectual vacuum is the central focus of this paper.

The Two-headed Dragon: Environmental Policy and Progress Under Rising Democracy in Taiwan

Social movements constitute a political link between the power of existing polity and the ability of citizens to influence political outcomes. As a result, social movements can represent a potential rival to the acting political system, acquiring power and facilitating change through actions that create threats to existing political structures. In Taiwan, social movements were born from oppression and neglect by the ruling political class of social concerns. Environmental protests were effective in halting further deterioration of the island’s environment. How have democracy and its ensuing freedoms for citizens and movements alike altered movement structure and their issues in the socio-political environment? This research traces the development and transformation of the environmental movement in Taiwan within this changing political structure and examines how mobilized protest has been increasingly muted as an effective movement strategy, and how environmental justice has been slow to materialize.

Japan's rights in Manchuria

The Chinese ‐ a Study of a Hong Kong Community. By Cornelius Osgood. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona, 1976 (3 vols.). Pp. 1264. Preface. Appendix. Illus‐. Index. $45.00.

The Government and Politics of Hong Kong. By N. J. Miners. Oxford University Press (East Asian Social Science Monographs), Hong Kong 1975; New York, Melbourne, London, 1976. Pp. xiv+288. Appendices, Bibliog. Index. £8.50 (£5.95 paperback).

Chinese Labour under British Rule. By Joe England and John Rear. Oxford University Press (East Asian Social Science Monographs) Hong Kong, 1975; New York, Melbourne, London, 1976. Pp. xvi+368. Appendices. Index. £10.00 (£7.50 paperback).     

Hybrid Politics and New Competitiveness: Hong Kong’s 2007 Chief Executive Election

In recounting Hong Kong's chief executive election in 2007, this paper charts the unexpected appearance of an “unauthorized” candidate and the occurrence of vibrant campaigning. Further, as electoral competitiveness increased, the liberal form of authoritarian rule that has characterized politics in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) began to change in ways that parallel the electoral authoritarianism practiced in Singapore. This paper argues that such change, if regularized and enhanced, may bring greater stability to the HKSAR’s politics, yielding greater legitimacy, popular compliance, and hence, new efficiencies in control. Even so, analysis of the chief executive election shows that this competitiveness was strongly resisted by the central government in Beijing.

美国并吞菲律宾过程中在香港之部署——以美国领事活动为中心

香港沦为殖民地后,美国在港活动愈趋频繁。时至美西战争前夕,美国驻香港总领事的委任及其活动为美国军事行动提供了重要支援;在港英当局奥援下,美国方面对菲律宾香港委员会开展舆论、情报及司法等斗争,并思考战后如何利用华人开发菲岛;为策应香港部署,广州、上海、新加坡与马尼拉等地美国领事与香港展开合作,加速并吞菲律宾。上述行动构成美国在东南亚扩张的重要环节,香港成为美国在远东扩张之战略要点,是菲岛以外不见硝烟的"战场"。     

Reflecting on Social Movement Unionism in Hong Kong: The Case of the Dockworkers’ Strike in 2013

By analysing the 2013 Hong Kong dockworkers’ strike, this article explores how workers, precariously situated in the world’s freest economy, fight for decent wages with the support of civil society. It is argued that the trade union movement in Hong Kong, a Special Administration Region of the People’s Republic of China, is a typical example of social movement unionism. It suggests that the rise of social movement unionism in Hong Kong was a practical strategy of social activists to support labour rights under the specific context of vulnerable structural power, weak institutional power, failed political unionism and a vibrant civil society. Social movement unionism has a “double-edged sword” effect on workers’ power: on the one hand, it has the potential to create societal power and strengthen associational power; on the other hand, it may compromise workers’ militancy and the possibility of stronger workplace bargaining power during workers’ struggle.     

Support for and Opposition to Democratization in Hong Kong

It is not easy to say what proportion of Hong Kong residents support democratization. Although the overwhelming majority of Hong Kong people support universal suffrage of the chief executive, public opinion in Hong Kong is divided into two opinions about whether they should accept the Chinese-style of democracy in which candidates are selected before election by the Chinese Central Government to exclude pro-democracy camp candidates. The majority of Hong Kong citizens do not want a person from the pro-democracy camp who is not on good terms with the central government to become the chief executive, and the “Occupy” movement was not welcomed because of prolonged occupation of the major streets. It is not easy for the pro-democracy camp to persuade conservative ordinary people to support full-democracy, and even if they succeed in changing public opinion, the central government and mainland people will become the next obstacle. The future perspective of Hong Kong's democratization is not bright, but young people's demand for democracy is very strong and they may well change Hong Kong society. It may also be possible that a wave of political consciousness among the young could eventually also sweep mainland China.     

Decline of governmental authority,political cynicism and political inefficacy in Hong Kong

The authority of the Hong Kong government declined continuously during the last decade. The people had become less trustful of and less deferential to public authorities. Public evaluation of governmental performance had also dropped. Political cynicism was on the rise, and the government was increasingly seen as colluding with the business sector to pursue its own interests. A sense of political efficacy also prevailed. However, the people did not perceive viable alternatives to the incumbent government. Consequently, the combination of political cynicism and political inefficacy had produced feelings of political frustration and alienation, but it did not generate serious political instability in Hong Kong.     

Japan’s Bilateral FTAs: No Obstacle to Progress in the Doha Round

This paper examines Japan’s FTAs with Mexico and the Philippines in the context of parallel negotiations in the Doha Round. Although the limited results produced by these FTAs represent an inferior outcome to what might be achieved with multilateral trade liberalization, there is no evidence that these agreements have weakened the political will of Japanese export interests to push ahead with trade liberalization in the WTO or increased the leverage of protectionist interests in opposing that goal. The greatest hope for increased Japanese flexibility in WTO agricultural talks lies in accelerated reform of domestic farm policy rather than reduced emphasis on pursuit of FTAs.

The political economy of economic regionalism in northeast asia: A unique and dynamic pattern

Since the mid-1980s there has been a gradual but steady rise of economic regionalism in Northeast Asia. However, the economic regionalism in Northeast Asia reveals its own dynamics and is presented in a form that is different from those in Western Europe and North America. Characterized by a “flying geese pattern” that has been developing in the region over time, the regionalism is soft and open; that is, it is uninstitutionalized and less discriminatory against other economies. This ongoing regionalism in Northeast Asia will inevitably bring profound political and economic implications for the region and beyond. Kevin G. Cai earned a Ph.D. in political science at Queen's University in Canada in 1996 Currently he is teaching at Kyonggi University in South Korea. His major research interests include the political economy of economic regionalism in the world economy, the regionalism in the Asia-Pacific area, APEC, China's integration into the regional and global economy, and various political, economic and security issues in the Asia-Pacific region. The author would like to thank Michael K. Hawes for his valuable comments on the early draft of this article.     

Explaining Support for Democracy in East Asia

This paper aims to explain public support for democracy in six East Asian societies using the 2006 AsiaBarometer data. The project investigates whether East Asians?? support for democracy is primarily based on perceived political performance, such as satisfaction with human rights, or perceived economic performance. The work also examines whether East Asians?? support for democracy is constrained by traditional values or the postmodern value of post-materialism. The analysis shows that for three democracies, satisfaction with human rights, i.e. perceived political performance and an intrinsic value embodied in democracy, counts more in shaping public support for democracy than perceived economic performance. Because support based on perceived economic performance is more volatile than support based on firm commitment to human rights, this finding sheds positive light on the prospects for democratic stability for the three East Asian democracies. For three East Asian autocratic societies, democratic support is based more on perceived economic rather than political performance, casting a pall on the future prospects for democratization of them. That said, these dim prospects are balanced by the finding of very weak and negative effects of some traditional Asian values on democratic support.     

The prospects for democratization in Southeast Asia: Local perspectives and international roles

Southeast Asia’s recent rapid economic development and the continuing growth of the middle class have both encouraged expectations about the inevitability of democratic political development. These expectations follow from considerable theorizing in the United States and Europe, but they may not be well-based on Southeast Asian political, economic, social, or cultural realities. There are serious democratic forces in Southeast Asia, but in most cases they are in a delicate balance with state, business, and class interests which may have only limited tolerance for democratic growth. Moreover, serious and persistent patterns of unequal economic development raise questions about the scope of any political democratization. Finally, the complexity of democratization issues in Southeast Asia means that outsiders, notably aid donors and foundations, must be very careful not to set back democratic development in Southeast Asia through well-intended but ill-conceived intervention.     

日本的香港研究综述

日本的香港研究历史悠久,近年来发展迅速。与中国内地、香港特区自身以及英美等西方国家的香港研究相比,日本的香港研究自有其特色。为便于学界对此有更多的了解,就研究主题与发表时序,逐一介绍近年日本对港研究的著作。由于日本香港研究触及香港社会的诸多议题,题材相对丰富,所以更适合就政治发展、社会经济、法律法规、文化艺术等视角逐一进行考察及综述。与此同时,也不可讳言,日本的香港研究存在种种不足,包括其对于内地与香港关系的偏见、研究取材的狭隘以及研究方法的滞后等等。从这个角度看,日本香港研究的成果值得国内学界关注,其局限也需要我们引以为戒。     

明防暗退——从香港保卫战前的部署看英国如何操作放弃香港

1941年12月日本进攻港英当局殖民统治下的香港,香港保卫战爆发前英国政府为了保全其帝国整体利益,对香港进行了战略性放弃,"明线"上表现出坚决保卫香港的姿态,"暗线"上却将主要军力撤至战略位置更重要的新加坡。英国在军事上放弃防御香港的同时,又拒绝通过不设防城市的方式避免香港受战火摧残,最终导致香港军民承受了重大伤亡,香港陷入日本的残酷占领和统治。     

Global Warming in Asia-Pacific: Environmental Change vs. International Justice

The preponderance of evidence from reports on climate change suggests that China and East Asia will face major environmental challenges, most of them unwelcome. In the following article, Paul G. Harris, associate professor of politics at Lingnan University, Hong Kong, introduces some of the underlying ethical considerations with regard to climate change justice and equity. He explores how justice is part of the broader international politics of climate change, the 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change, its 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the ongoing negotiations concerning how to implement it. The emphasis is on the more practical debates, their codification in international instruments, and the ways in which East Asian countries perceive them. Harris concludes that increasing knowledge of the uncertainty and adversity from climate change has raised awareness among East Asian countries, but concerns about justice and equity mean that worries about climate change do not translate easily into national action.     

Okinawa and American Colonialism

Abstract

The Ryukyus, surrounded on three sides by major powers of East Asia, are the most strategic outpost of freedom in the Far East. Known as the “Keystone of the Pacific,” Okinawa, the most important island is 800 nautical miles southwest of Tokyo, 325 nautical miles northeast of Taipei, 750 nautical miles northeast of Manila and 700 nautical miles northeast of Hong Kong.     

Diagnosing neopatrimonialism: an interview with Thandika Mkandawire

ABSTRACT

Thandika Mkandawire is a Malawian economist and public intellectual. He is currently Chair and Professor of African Development at the London School of Economics. He was formerly Director of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, and Director of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). In 2015, he published an influential critique of neopatrimonialism, ‘Neopatrimonialism and the Political Economy of Economic Performance in Africa: Critical Reflections’.

His empirical analysis demonstrates that neopatrimonialism can neither explain heterogeneity in political arrangements nor predict variability in economic outcomes. He argues that its dominance in scholarly and popular discourses of the continent derives from its appeal to crude ethnographic stereotypes. Yet such stereotypes are at odds with the idea that African citizens can be trusted to vote intelligently. As a result, the neopatrimonial school tends to seek political arrangements that can circumnavigate democratic politics, particularly in the form of bureaucratic authoritarianism or external agents of restraint. Against this, Mkandawire insists on an approach that recognises the importance of democratic politics, and the critical role that ideas, interests and structures play in shaping African societies. In this interview with the Journal of Contemporary African Studies (JCAS), Mkandawire reflects on the historical genesis of neopatrimonialism, the political economy factors that likely explain the ways in which it has taken hold in African scholarship and public discourse, and how to move forward.     

Citizenship,economy and social exclusion of mainland Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is often viewed as a Chinese immigrants' city. This article discusses three interrelated dimensions of the social exclusion of migrants designated as “new” Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong. First, it is argued that globalisation has triggered intense economic rivalry among world cities as they undertake economic restructuring. Second, the political attempts of territorial states to establish their own legitimacy and strengthen their governing capacity are major catalysts that induce the social exclusion of immigrants. Third, the nature and strength of local place-based social identity is vital to determine the difficulties new immigrants face in being included in the host society. After recounting the history of Chinese immigrants and their recent profile in Hong Kong, the article examines the relationships between Hong Kong's economic development and the state's immigration policies, and how Hong Kong's state policies have constructed a form of Hong Kong identity vis-à-vis Mainland Chinese, drawing out the mechanisms that determine the social exclusion of Mainland immigrants since the 1990s.

“We asked for workers but human beings came.” Max Frisch(quoted in Hollifield,2000:149)     

Haven under erasure?: Hong Kong,global Asia and human rights

Discussions of Hong Kong's human rights situation tend to focus on the ex-colony's struggle to protect civil and political rights against the encroachment of the Chinese state. Without contradicting the well-grounded concern with Hong Kong's human rights future articulated in these discussions, this article offers a complementary narrative of human rights development in post-1997 Hong Kong that looks beyond the national frame of such discussions. Drawing attention to Hong Kong's position as a regional centre in the struggle for human rights in Asia under globalisation, the article argues that the activities of local and transnational human rights advocacy groups in the city show positive and promising possibilities of coalitional solidarity on the ground of human rights. Notably, the protests against national security legislation opened up opportunities of articulating diverse struggles for the rights of various social groups, including migrant groups, with the local struggle for civil and political rights. A perspective of Global Asia enables a reading of this important episode in Hong Kong's struggle for human rights that suggests more open-ended future possibilities than the common nationally-framed accounts.