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This chapter discusses the scope of activities of the HKSAR executive. The executive in the HKSAR is comprised of the chief executive (who is assisted by the Chief Executive's Office and supported by 15 principal officials), the Executive Council, and executive departments and agencies. The chapter reviews the executive functions of the HKSAR and its relationship with the legislature. It also examines whether the practice of “executive-led government” is in decline. The pre-1997 executive-led government has been replaced by executive-driven government after the 1997 handover. The chapter concludes by examining challenges to effective governance (such as the inadequate supply of professional politicians) and suggesting ways to construct a viable and workable governing system for the HKSAR.

This chapter focuses on the British Handover of Hong Kong to China. On 30 June 1997, Hong Kong ceased to be a British colony and became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China. This transition entailed no change in the territory's tax system. The Inland Revenue Ordinance, like almost all the legislation left behind by the colonial regime, remained in force. China promised that Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy and that the structure of its government would remain unchanged. More particularly, China made it clear that there still would be a complete separation between Hong Kong's tax system and public finances.

This introductory chapter sets out the political context of Hong Kong's government institutions and politics. It traces the arrangements for Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of China through the Sino-British negotiations on Hong Kong and the Basic Law. It examines Hong Kong's relations with Mainland China and the rest of the world. It then briefly outlines Hong Kong's system and philosophies of government, current issues affecting governance, and the development of political parties and civil society.

This chapter reviews the perspectives arising from the political relationships between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Beijing. These perspectives include Hong Kong's annexation of the mainland, the clash of civilizations, Beijing's control over Hong Kong, bureaucratic politics, planning and coordination, and fiscal relations. In addition to reviewing these perspectives, the chapter also advances a modified form of patron-clientelism which involves political patrons operating in a pluralistic environment where support from the clients and followers is not assured and where non-clients are determined to oppose the clientelistic regime. The chapter also explores how the central government of Beijing (the superior patron) deals with the non-clients of Hong Kong's political scene, specifically the democratic elites. It also examines how Beijing rewards the clients of HKSAR.

This chapter examines changes to the membership composition of the HKSAR Legislative Council (LegCo) and reviews how these changes affect the performance of the LegCo. It then studies the functions and powers of the LegCo, such as lawmaking and overseeing the government's performance. Next, the chapter investigates the performance of the Third HKSAR LegCo (2004–08) and concludes that its performance was less impressive than that of the 1995–97 LegCo. The chapter details why the HKSAR LegCo is unable to perform as effectively as the pre-handover LegCo. It then suggests methods of strengthening the functioning of the HKSAR LegCo in the future, such as amending Article 74 of the Basic Law and reforming the LegCo‧s committee and panel systems.

This chapter discusses the fundamental principles of the HKSAR's legal system, which include a common law system, rule of law, judicial independence, and the protection of human rights. It then examines two new institutional arrangements that were instituted after the political handover - the power of final adjudication (vested with the Court of Final Appeal) and the power of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (SCNPC) to interpret the Basic Law. The chapter argues that the SCNPC's power to interpret the Basic Law has established an institutional link between the HKSAR legal system and the Chinese legal system. After the handover, the struggle of the HKSAR judiciary focuses on how it should resolve the inherent conflict between these two new institutional arrangements. The chapter also studies the impact of the SCNPC's interpretation of the Basic Law on the HKSAR courts. It concludes that the HKSAR judiciary would be able to protect the principle of rule of law and human rights of the Hong Kong people if the matters it adjudicates do not involve the interests of the central authorities.

This chapter examines the changing relations between the HKSAR and the Mainland since 2003. The political forces and discontents that erupted in July 2003 have prompted the Central People's Government (CPG) to become much more interventionist in HKSAR affairs. It has stepped up its monitoring and steering of the HKSAR affairs, intensified its united front work with political, business, and community leaders, and boosted the HKSAR economy. Since 2003, the HKSAR is increasingly reliant on the economic opportunities offered by the Mainland. While the HKSAR has benefited from interactions with the Mainland, there is no consensus in the HKSAR community about how to utilize the opportunities and meet the challenges arising from the growing social and economic integration between the two areas. Whether the HKSAR can maintain its special status under “one country, two systems” and a high degree of autonomy in the future remains a key challenge for both the Hong Kong people and the CPG.

On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong's sovereignty was transferred from Britain to the People's Republic of China. This handover tested the concept of “one country, two systems”, designed and proposed by the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. With Taiwan as the final target of the reunification with China, Deng hoped that the retrocession of Hong Kong would be smooth and would woo Taiwan to return to the PRC orbit. This book discusses the implementation of “one country, two systems” in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It assesses the issues surrounding the mainlandization of HKSAR. The issues of the economic dependence of HKSAR in PRC, the vulnerability of HKSAR in the NPC's interpretation of the Basic Law, media-censorship, and the differences of HKSAR and PRC in terms of democratic reforms are discussed. This book aims to successfully relate the progress of Hong Kong politics to the future political relationship of China and Taiwan. By offering a broad focus on “one country, two systems” in the process of Sino-British negotiations and their trust building efforts, this book provides a paradigm from which political leaders of China and Taiwan can derive lessons to improve their political relationship.

This chapter covers the period from 1997 to 2009—the sixth phase, as well as the start of the seventh phase. It specifically offers a substantive discussion about the merits of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) operating openly in the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong (HKSAR). It also shows that Donald Tsang continues the struggle although from the CCP's perspective, Hong Kong is being tamed and a new political order under Chinese sovereignty is being shaped. It begins by discussing the Mainland institutions and Hong Kong. The requirements for the new political order in Hong Kong are given. One of the roles of Xinhua Hong Kong (and then the Liaison Office as its successor) was to influence the media. Moreover, after the protest, the CCP proceeded on several fronts to prepare to take on a more active role in Hong Kong affairs. Furthermore, the 2008 Legislative Council election is described. The CCP is likely to conclude that it has basically achieved what it set out to do in 1983 in order to build the united front, win the propaganda war, assert sovereignty, and take power peacefully in 1997.

The story of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Hong Kong is the tale of how the party dealt with the contradiction of communism in Hong Kong. From the time of the birth of the CCP, Hong Kong served as a very useful and fairly secure haven for party members and friends to stage revolutionary and political activities, including communications, propaganda, united front activities, fundraising, and intelligence gathering. Hong Kong was also a good place for the Mainland in terms of trade, loans, investments, and gifts from compatriots. In addition, the story of the CCP in Hong Kong can be said to have six distinct phases since 1921, when the party was established on the Mainland. The two interwoven issues, namely dealing with capitalism and managing elections, are considered. Despite there being still many challenges for the CCP to bring the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong (HKSAR) fully into the fold, a new political order has emerged in Hong Kong, which carries with it a different set of regime values from those prior to 1997.

This chapter describes the development of political parties and the electoral system in Hong Kong, and analyzes the problems that have confronted their development. Political parties started to develop in the 1980s as a result of gradual democratization in Hong Kong. As the talks on the political future of Hong Kong were well underway, political parties also mushroomed, which were generally divided into pro-democracy and pro-China camps. Such a division has lasted until today, and the two camps are varied, to different degrees, in their political ideologies, and positions on labour, welfare, economic, and livelihood issues. Despite their long history, political parties in Hong Kong are remarkably weak and are confronted by various obstacles, such as the anti-politics stance of the CPG. Like party development, Hong Kong's electoral experience has also been unique. The chapter traces the change of direct election formula to a proportional representation system, and its effects such as the change in campaign strategies and strategic voting.

This chapter studies the characteristics of civil society in Hong Kong including its general features, and the functions, contributions, and shortfalls of civil society organizations and social service organizations. Hong Kong has a sizable and vibrant civil society but a good amount of its organizations are weak in structure and have inadequate resources. The chapter investigates the levels of participation in civil society activities and citizenship in Hong Kong, and finds that higher levels of participation are related to good citizen traits such as higher levels of pro-social behaviours and attitudes. Lastly, the chapter critically examines the constraints of Hong Kong's civil society.

This chapter examines an influential political institution in the HKSAR—the Hong Kong civil service. The chapter outlines the structural and systemic features of the civil service and the special role that its leaders—the administrative officers—play in the governance of Hong Kong. The chapter argues that civil servants served as powerful political actors both before and after the handover and that they were seen (and still regard themselves after the handover) as the guardians of the public interest. The chapter then analyzes reforms to the reforms public sector reform (which reduces the political influence of civil servants) and civil service (inspired by ideas of the new public management movement initiated in the Western industrial countries in the late 1970s). The chapter concludes that the civil service in general and administrative officers in particular remain influential political actors in the governance of the HKSAR.

This chapter examines Hong Kong's local government system and its complex web of local, advisory, and statutory bodies. It first details the development, functions, and political role of the District Councils. With the passage of the government's constitutional reform package in June 2010, the District Councils play a more than consultative role in the governance process. Moreover, the nature of the District Councils is also being transformed from a simple advisory body to a dynamic arena for power struggle. Next, the chapter explains the types and functions of Hong Kong advisory and statutory bodies and the 2003 review of the operation of these bodies. Despite the 2003 review, there are still some inadequacies in the operation of these bodies. As the context within which the District Councils, and advisory and statutory bodies operate has changed from consultative politics to democratic and electoral politics, these bodies must adapt to the changes in the external political environment; otherwise they will lose their creditability and be unable to make contribution to the governance process.

Chapter two experiences the urban terrain of Hong Kong as a kinesthetic dramatization of Hong Kong's unsteady relationship to Chineseness. Through a somatic mapping of the city the chapter examines Hong Kong's particular postcolonial predicament — its return to the mainland after 100 years of British rule — and attendant cultural identity crisis. As a place through which things and people from every direction cross and recross, Hong Kong sometimes seems like a place without any actual land, just an intricate network of transit systems in kinetic suspension. The chapter explores a dance piece called Revolutionary Pekinese Opera (1997) by City Contemporary Dance Company and a series of public protests by the spiritual group Falun Gong, both of which occurred around the time of Hong Kong's handover to China. Both choreographies reveal Hong Kongers' efforts to apprehend the city during a time of uncertainty. The chapter argues that both the dance piece and the protests served as critiques of the forces of global capitalist flow that tend to motivate the everyday choreography of the streets of Hong Kong. At the moment of the handover these two choreographies strove to make visible the bodies handed over through this transfer of sovereignty. This chapter suggests that alternate kinetic forces can work to inject blips, stutters, and stillness into a habitus otherwise dominated by free flow.

This chapter reviews the political landscape in Hong Kong after the July 1 rally of 2003, which has been characterized by greater intervention of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong's democratization such as the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (SCNPC)'s 2004 decision to rule out universal suffrage for electing the CE and the legislature in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The chapter then examines the development of new pro-democracy political parties in Hong Kong since 2003, their differing views about the controversial contents of the government's constitutional reform proposal as compared to the Democratic Party, and the different strategies used in the process of negotiation in 2010. Finally, the chapter discusses the prospects of Hong Kong's democracy movement under the influence of the CPG.

This chapter examines two aspects of economic policy: fiscal policy and industrial policy. The findings reject the “market economy” image of Hong Kong, and show that political considerations often override economic logic in shaping economic policy. In Hong Kong, economic ideology is frequently used as a tool to legitimate political choices about the economy, which are often biased towards the benefit of more privileged groups. The best example of how power distribution shapes resource allocation is the fiscal system, under which the politically powerful are often taxed less but benefit more. The political system dominated by the rich and powerful also deprives the government of sufficient state capacity and state autonomy for carrying out effective industrial policies to transform and restructure the economy.