Hong Kong S Embattled Democracy

While many scholars of democratization focus on outside forces and legal change, political sociologist Alvin So argues that - in the case of Hong Kong - the societal dimension reveals more clearly the issues and difficulties of establishing a viable democracy. He shows how Hong Kong moved from being a non-democracy in the 1970s, to a restricted democracy in the 1980s, to a contested democracy in the 1990s, and how Hong Kong now negotiates a democratic compromise under Chinese rule."--BOOK JACKET.

A new era in the democracy movement in Hong Kong began on July 1, 2003, when half a million people protested on the streets, and has included the 2012 anti-National Education campaign, the 2014 Occupy Central Movement and the rapid rise of localist groups. The new democracy movement in Hong Kong is characterized by a diversity of interest groups calling for political reform, policy change and the territory’s autonomy vis-à-vis the central government in Beijing. These groups include lawyers, teachers, students, nativists, workers, Catholics, human rights activists, environmental activists and intellectuals. This book marks a new attempt at understanding the activities of the various interest groups in their quest for democratic participation, governmental responsiveness and openness. They are utilizing new and unconventional modes of political participation, such as the Occupy Central Movement, cross-class mobilization, the use of technology and cyberspace, and human rights activities with cross-boundary implications for China’s political development. The book will be useful to students, researchers, officials, diplomats and journalists interested in the political change of Hong Kong and the implications for mainland China.

This volume in 15 chapters serves as a useful overview of various significant aspects of the new trends of political participation in Hong Kong. Written by a team of experts who have been astute observers of Hong Kong Politics, the book covers a wide spectrum of topics ranging from a conventional understanding of political participation (e.g., the activities of political parties and interest groups) to a more specialized form of participation (e.g., the relationships between government and legislators in policy-making). The study of the rise of new social movements by the Post-80s generation would be of particular interest to those who are keen to comprehend the sharpening inter-generational differences. There will be a readership among academics and university students. This can also be a valuable reference for the media, policy-makers, or anyone interested in Hong Kong politics. This book is published by City University of Hong Kong Press. 香港城市大學出版社出版。

Offers a new perspective on the relationship between states and social movements in authoritarian and semi-authoritarian contexts.

Hong Kong in Transition offers a perspective on the exceptional constitutional and administrative experiment that has been taking place in Hong Kong, based on a substantial period under Chinese rule. There have been both successes and failures, and a perceptible process of change which is important to document. The particular appeal of this volume lies in the fact that it combines a broad overview with detailed study of individual topics. It is multidisciplinary, and its chapters may be read as 'stand-alone' studies or taken as complementary parts of a whole snapshot of Hong Kong in this critical early period. The chapters are pitched at a level to make them accessible both to undergraduates and to the specialist. Contributors have been drawn from Hong Kong, Macau, the UK, the US, Australia and Germany, reflecting the international interest in the fate of Hong Kong.

Why and how has civic engagement emerged in the policy process of Hong Kong as an Asian semi-democratic state? This book attempts to answer this question through examining six cases that straddle diverse policy domains. It identifies three explanatory factors, namely, the profile of a policy domain, the structure of societal interest, and the strength of the civil society sector as important in shaping the state’s strategy in managing society, hence its propensity to engage. These factors affect the outcome through dynamic interaction between the state and societal actors. The findings outlined in the book show that the development of civic engagement in Hong Kong consists of both society-led and state-led cases. Society-led development brought about a high degree of openness and inclusiveness, whereas state-led civic engagement practices tended to be tactics utilized by the state for appeasing or depoliticizing civil society. Compared with other Asian regimes, the use of ‘transgressive contention’ as a way to compel the state to engage society is a feature that stands out in the liberal autocratic regime in Hong Kong.

This book provides a detailed comparative account of the development of citizenship and civil society in Hong Kong from its time as a British colony to its current status as a special autonomous region of China.

Het uitgangspunt van dit boek is dat Chinese individuen van hun eigen inzet uit moeten kunnen gaan, ongeacht de beperkingen die hen door de staat worden opgelegd. Om hun belangen beter te kunnen verdedigen sluiten sommige individuen zich aan bij sociale bewegingen, die tot sociale protesten kunnen leiden.