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.     

Economic prosperity or democracy: Dilemma of development in Hong Kong and China

After Hong Kong is integrated with mainland China in July 1997, the economic and political environments of the two places will inevitably link up with each other. Economic modernization significantly not only improves the living conditions of the Chinese, but also alters their social structure and political values. As such, economic prosperity and democracy become the two conflicting values in Hong Kong and China during the transition to 2000. The people of Hong Kong and China are presented a choice over two mutually exclusive targets: economic prosperity vs. democracy. On the one hand, the choice for economic prosperity will imply no democracy because a conservative political system will be maintained to preserve the political status quo. On the other hand, the choice for democracy will imply no economic prosperity, because democratization will be suppressed and hence the economy will suffer as a result of political instability. However, neither of these two choices could offer the people of Hong Kong and China a genuine prosperity and stability. Therefore a congruent relationship between the economy and the political system must be established and maintained. As prosperity is contributed by both economic growth and political stability, neglection of either of these two elements will not result in a long‐lasting prosperity. Thus, economic development and democratization are two complementary rather than contradicting forces on the road to development in China.     

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.     

Going 'Back' and Staying 'Out': Articulating the postcolonial Hong Kong subjects in the development of China

In examining the Hong Kongers' participation in the social development of China, I suggest that China-development provides an important local site for the study of Chinese postcoloniality. Not only does it disclose the multiple and contradicting effects of colonial power, it also embodies the conflicting visions of modern China between the official Grand Narrative of modern Chinese nationhood and the local narratives of modern Chineseness. It became a site that created discursive possibilities for individual Hong Kongers to negotiate their ambivalent identification with and resistance to China. In this paper, I show how Hong Kongers were constructed as 'free subjects' under the British colonial discourse of liberalism which in turn shaped the Hong Kong discourse of China-development. Circulating in China-development was the image of China as the oppressive and corrupt 'inside' and Hong Kong as a free 'outside' space of accountability and equality of opportunities. Vacillating between East and West, Hong Kongers came to represent themselves as modern Chinese towards which they worked to develop their mainland compatriots.     

Patron–Client Politics in Hong Kong: a case study of the 2002 and 2005 Chief Executive elections

The Chief Executive's (CE's) relationship with Beijing is bound to entail a patron-client network, for Beijing has to confirm, endorse and announce the CE's official appointment after a local electoral process where the CE is elected by the 800-man Election Committee, a ‘small circle’ electoral method that is favourable to maintain patron-client relations. In other words, a skilful manipulation of patron-client relations can help to secure electoral success. Still, the candidate has to build up a stable reciprocal relationship with the voters to consolidate their sense of client list recognition to maintain loyalties by means of offering material or non-material benefits the clients need, or even seeking assistance from the patron Beijing. Nevertheless, such exchange of benefits sometimes may not be so successful as to earn the loyalties of all, especially the pro-democracy and voters with different political ideology. Further, the dyadic relations and loyalties of a patron's clients can shift between patrons so that one's patron can also become another's client, like the incumbent CE Donald Tsang who is the client of Beijing but also the patron of all his political appointees, and the former CE Tung Chee-hwa, who was the client of Beijing especially the former President Jiang Zemin, but Tung himself was the patron of many Hong Kong elites coopted to the various institutions and positions. Finally, Beijing's obsession with maintaining effective of indirect control over the HKSAR polity by ordaining the actual choice of a CE and hence the resulting non-contested CE elections of 2002 and 2005 in which open nominations of CE candidates were conducted but the secret balloting for the qualified candidates was not held at all. In short, while voters may become the clients of Beijing, candidates may also seek to become the client list supporter of the central government. Patron-client relation is arguably the hallmark of the insider politics in CE elections.     

More than a primitive imperialism: The colonial government and the social relief of Hong Kong in the early twentieth century

The implication of the social relief of Hong Kong in the early twentieth century has not been stressed sufficiently by researchers on social administration. The post‐colonial historiography, which would likely be dominated by Chinese communist historians, most probably will reinforce the reductionist view ‘British imperialist was indifferent to the social relief for Hong Kong grassroots’ to fit in the political correctness of the upcoming hegemony. This documentary analysis shows a different picture to the above common sense. Based on the new picture, we try to unveil the danger lurking in the anti‐imperialist nationalism, and suggest a possible new understanding of the history of Hong Kong's social welfare development.     

A Cross-National Examination of School Violence and Nonattendance Due to School Violence in Taiwan,Hong Kong,and Mainland China: A Rasch Model Approach

ABSTRACT

This study examined the similarities and differences between three distinct Chinese societies (Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China) regarding the contribution of gender and grade level to school violence, the ranking orders of perpetration and victimization behavior, and the correlates of school nonattendance due to violence. A cross-national random sample of 2,582 junior high school students was obtained. The results of Rasch analyzes revealed that verbal violence is most frequent. Male students are most likely to be aggressive and victimized. Grade-level differences in school violence were shown to be weak or insignificant. School nonattendance is generally associated with being kicked, punched, socially excluded, blackmailed, threatened, or sexually kissed without consent. The results were similar across societies. The findings imply that the contextual differences between Chinese societies may not account for different effects of gender and grade level on school violence, behavioral patterns of school violence, and correlates of school nonattendance.     

粤港澳大湾区视角下香港科技资源配置效率分析 ——基于DEA-Tobit两步法模型

基于DEA-Tobit两步法模型对2000—2016年香港科技资源配置效率及其影响因素进行实证分析,结果表明近17年来香港整体科技资源配置基本处于相对有效的状态,但还有待优化提升。香港要充分发挥自身科技资源优势,加快政府改革,加快香港创新经济培育发展;加大政府科技投入中对科研成果就地转化支持力度,引导高校、科研机构在科研绩效考评中适当加入科技成果转化这一指标以及加强与大湾区其他城市的创新协同发展。     

粤港澳大湾区建设背景下的香港青年国家认同问题——当代价值、现实困境与重建路径

粤港澳大湾区建设作为国家发展的重要战略,呼唤青年国家认同的合法出场,但现实中粤港澳大湾区部分香港青年的国家认同正遭受着一定的危机与挑战。基于粤港澳大湾区建设背景,立足香港青年国家认同的当代内涵理解与时代价值重构理性探究应然态,瞄准香港青年国家认同的现实困境客观正视实然态,在实然与应然的理性"对视"中引入动态系统理论逻辑寻找破解之道,可尝试探赜粤港澳大湾区香港青年国家认同的"四解式"系统重建路径。