Hong Kong S Tortuous Democratization

This book raises interesting questions about the process of democratisation in Hong Kong and asks why democracy has been so long delayed when the standard of living in Hong Kong has become so middle class.

An analysis of the politics of transition in Hong Kong, focusing on the tug-of-war between China and Britain on democratization, and on the interactions between the increasingly politically active people of Hong Kong and the democratizing colonial regime. The successes and failures of British policy since 1984, and the missed opportunities to democratize faster prior to Governor Patten's appointment in 1992 are examined.

This book examines the government of Hong Kong since its handover to China in 1997, arguing that Hong Kong has been poorly governed and that this is what lies behind regular mass protests since 2003. It considers the different aspects of these government problems, and assesses prospects for the future.

This book raises interesting questions about the process of democratization in Hong Kong. It asks why democracy has been so long delayed when Hong Kong's level of socio-economic development has become so high. It relates democratization in Hong Kong to wider studies of the democratization process elsewhere, and it supplements the received wisdom - that democracy was delayed because of colonial rule and by the opposition of China - with new thinking, for example, that its quasi-bureaucratic authoritarian political structure vested power in bureaucrats who refused to have top-down democratization; a politically weak civil society and a non-participant political culture that crippled bottom-up democratization; plus the division between pro-democratic civil society and political society.

This book is a unique contribution to the study of democratization in Hong Kong, with chapters including the legal tradition in Hong Kong, the features of Hong Kong's indigenous democracy, the 2014 Umbrella Movement, and the evolution of the Chief Executive election.

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.

Social Transformations in Chinese Societies is the official annual of The Hong Kong Sociological Association. It publishes articles of original research that addresses theoretical, methodological, or substantive issues of sociological significance about social transformations in Chinese societies. The focus is mainly on Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, the Mainland, Singapore, and Chinese overseas. Review essays of exceptionally high quality are also welcome. Book jacket.