21世纪香港面临的机遇与挑战

回归十年,在中国大陆改革开放推动下,香港国际贸易与金融中心的地位得以巩固和发展.21世纪香港与内地均面临结构调整、产业升级和提高产品在国际市场竞争力的严峻挑战.在可预见的未来,在陆港两地经济贸易关系加强的有利形势下,香港经济的实力和竞争力将被提升到新的高度.     

Support for Democracy and Political Opposition in Russia, 1993-1995

Ukraine's 2006 parliamentary election was deemed free and fair by outside observers, at least as compared to elections in other states of the former USSR and most notably as compared to the second (November) round of its 2004 presidential vote. In earlier research we applied several statistical forensic indicators to official election returns to assess the extent of fraud in that election and in Russia, and we used those indicators to confirm that Ukraine's December presidential runoff rerun was largely devoid of the fraud that undermined the November vote's legitimacy. Here we apply those same indicators to official returns from Ukraine's 2006 vote, not simply to confirm what observers conclude about that election but also to lend credence to the indicators themselves.     

Women employment in colonial Hong Kong

Women's participation in the labour market is on the rise, and employment opportunities available to working women have increased greatly. However, working women in Hong Kong are still disproportionately underrepresented in higher status occupations. Despite general improvement in their educational attainment, women are still unequally paid. Their role in the workplace is still very much constrained and impeded by their familial role. Hong Kong women's continuing subordination in the workplace lies in the domination of the Chinese patriarchal family in industrial Hong Kong. Women experience institutional discrimination insofar as other institutions and the public at large also subscribe to culturally entrenched prejudices and discriminatory practices against women. It appears that women's subordinate status will not change in the foreseeable future.     

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.     

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。     

The support of Hong Kong Chinese for democratic reform

This research paper has two major objectives. First, it explains the variations in public support for the British-led democratic reform in late June 1994. Second, it attempts to account for why the reform has only received mild rather than overwhelming backing from the local public. The significance of the research lies in the fact that according to comparative studies, public attitudes do shape democratic prospects. It shows that the low priority attached to democratic reform since the handover of Hong Kong can be better understood by referring to the basis of public support for the non-demoncratic political system before 1997. Models of political culture and rational choice are put to the test in comparing their explanatory power for public support of the British-led democratic reform and the rational choice model has been found to be more powerful. The social base of the political reform, as well as the political implications of the research are also discussed in this essay. Ming Sing is Assistant Professor of Dept. of Public and Social Administration, City University of Hong Kong. He studied Political Science at Yale University and got his D. Phil. from the Oxford University. His major research interests are comparative democratisation and social movements in East Asia. K. M. Lee is the Lecturer at the Division of Social Studies, City University of Hong Kong. His major interests are political economy, social development and comparative politics of East Asia. Both authors would like to express their gratitude to the City University of Hong Kong for its generous financial funding of this research.     

The Transition from Armed Opposition to Electoral Opposition in Central America

After the third wave of democratization swept much of the world during the late twentieth century, many armed opposition groups disarmed and transformed themselves into political parties. This paper explores the electoral performance of four Central American parties that have roots in armed opposition movements. It finds that the Sandinista National Liberation Front in Nicaragua and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front in El Salvador, which achieved the greatest success during their revolutionary periods, have also had the most success in electoral competition. The Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unit and the Democratic Unification Party of Honduras, which trace their roots to relatively less successful armed opposition groups, have struggled in elections. Organizational factors, especially the number of combatants and popular support during the conflict, tend to provide a better explanation than institutional factors for the initial success of these groups as political parties.     

The Politics of the Minimum Wage in Hong Kong

This article provides an account of the recent introduction of a minimum wage in Hong Kong in 2011. Traditional welfare state theories had their origins in rich democracies. We refine the theoretical arguments in accordance with the semi-democratic nature of Hong Kong. We argue that the legislation was initiated reluctantly by the business-friendly government under unfavourable economic conditions. Any subsequent concessions to labour were not attributable to labour strength or political oppositions, which were very weak. Instead, multiple miscalculations by the politically dominant business side allowed the labour movement to gain limited grounds throughout the struggle. We also apply our arguments to the case of Singapore, illustrating how welfare state theories can be adapted to less democratic systems.     

Mass media and politics in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Before the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from Britain to the People's Republic of China, many people of Hong Kong and observers were pessimistic regarding freedom of the press in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). After July 1, 1997, however, press freedom in the HKSAR appears to persist and it seems as if the optimistic scenario of media autonomy has been neglected by many Hong Kong residents and observers. Nevertheless, media autonomy in the HKSAR is dependent on a number of factors. This article suggests that a contingency perspective can be adopted to comprehend the dynamics of media autonomy in the HKSAR.     

香港族裔经济中的印尼华侨与华人

20世纪七八十年代,有不下20万的印度尼西亚华侨自中国内地迁居香港;而近30多年来,印尼家务工人亦接踵而至,其在香港的人数现已超过13万人。这两群看似毫不相干的移民,在21世纪全球化以及区域移民的大语境下相遇,共同构建了香港经济活动中奇特的族裔景观,具体包括印尼食品店、服装店、手机店、家具店等等。基于文化背景、语言条件以及香港公民身份等因素,第一代印尼归侨以及千禧年前后开始定居香港的印尼华人或自己充当雇主,或在族裔经济中担任雇员,自然而然成为在港印尼族裔经济的先驱者与主要获利者。本文根据2013年到2016年初的田野调查和深度访谈,梳理在港印尼华侨华人的移民背景以及类别,探讨印尼华侨华人如何在印尼家务工人移民潮的推动之下,启动他们的族裔资源,使之成为具有商业用途的资本,从而促进了过去十多年来香港印尼族裔经济的蓬勃发展。