“MORE COLONIAL AGAIN?”—THE POST-1997 CULTURE OF HONG KONG'S GOVERNING ELITE[1]

The remarkable smoothness of Hong Kong's handover from liberal democratic Britain to communist China was not forecast because commentators underestimated the role of Administrative Officers (AOs) as the governing elite under both sovereigns. This article is based on a survey of post-1997 AO culture by an ex-insider and finds subtle changes under the stable surface: a reinforced paternalism, more “Confucian” but also “more colonial again;” less accountability downwards (“just as dedicated to our jobs, but forgetting what they are for”); more caution and conformity upwards. Unexpectedly, the new sovereign sems to interfere less than the old, but benefits from lower expectations and favourably double standards, whereas Hong Kong's government feels hypercriticised. Against the embarrassing reality of postcolonial governance elsewhere, the success of Hong Kong's continuing colonial system should not be ignored just because it does not fit Western democratic models.