The upcoming election of Hong Kong's Chief Executive (CE), the first since the Umbrella Movement for democratization in 2014, is an opportune moment to review a collected volume on the government and politics of Hong Kong since the 1997 handover. The editors and authors seek to understand whether or not the “One Country, Two Systems” has been successful and whether Hong Kong can achieve a more effective, fair, and legitimate form of governance. Their conclusions are mixed. They argue that the vibrancy and activity of civil society in Hong Kong offers hope for change, but they are wary of the enduring obstacles posed by the legacy of colonialism and the city's continued integration and dependence on the Mainland.
The book's main conclusion is that the One Country, Two Systems policy is proving to be increasingly contradictory and problematic for the governance of Hong Kong. The executive-driven and “purely administrative” system was meant to provide stability and continuity during Hong Kong's post-colonial period, especially in terms of the economy, but it continues to struggle with a low growth rate and the pressures for democratic reform. All such reforms, in fact, are met with a wary eye from a Central People's Government (CPG) keen to avoid major structural changes in the island. The edited volume has 17 chapters that are divided into four sections and are meant to provide a comprehensive understanding of Hong Kong's politics and government.
The book's first section, on the main political institutions such as the executive, legislative, judiciary, civil service, and various advisory and district bodies, outlines the problems inherent in Hong Kong's government. The authors’ show that the CE, who is non-democratically selected, faces weak opposition from a constrained and only partly elected legislature. Therefore, the government lacks a popular mandate and suffers from a lack of legitimacy. In fact, one of the main checks on the CE's power comes from another non-elected body, the civil service, who are the purported guardians of public interest. The authors find some hope in the District Councils, who provide a means of communication between the government and society, but their lack of mandate severely harms of their legitimacy.
This lack of accountability and legitimacy within the governing institutions of Hong Kong is somewhat countered by an increasingly active and vibrant civil society. The second section, on mediating institutions and political actors, argues that Hong Kong's political development has lagged behind its economic development. Despite these deficiencies, the island has seen a proliferation of pro-democratic parties and an increasingly active civil society. Harnessing mass media, especially the internet, many opposition forces are able to transmit their views. This culminated in the 2003 demonstrations against a proposed national security bill. One of the consequences presented by the authors, however, was a change in Beijing's approach towards the island.
Unfortunately, the desire for stability in light of economic growth was dashed with the Asian Financial Crisis and the continued reliance of laissez-faire market ideologies, though the latter, again, are more myth than reality. The third section shows that the handling of these crises has shown the government to be unable to respond to growing social inequities, among other things. The persistence of market policies, the authors argue, is to shield the government from calls to increase public goods, and to shift the blame of policy failures on the market. Despite this, the government's hand has often been forced in areas of social and urban policy. In contradiction to its market image, the government is a large owner of land, which it has been pressured to use to provide affordable housing. However, these policies, much like its welfare regime, are shown to be piecemeal and reactionary. Furthermore, the government seems less and less willing to initiate reforms and seems to wait for the Mainland to give its marching orders, as was the case with the minimum wage laws.
In the final section, all of these domestic issues are shown to have an international dimension, as Hong Kong's image as an international city and a gateway to the Mainland continues to be undermined by what the authors call the provincialization, or Sinicization, of Hong Kong. The authors demonstrate the external consequences of continued integration with the Mainland and, also, the growing incompatibilities with the policy of One Country, Two Systems. As the Mainland continues its policies of opening up to the world financially, and continues to soften its image, Hong Kong's role as mediator is becoming increasingly superfluous. Added to this, the Mainland's growing involvement in the internal affairs of the island ultimately undermine the Two Systems policy where even one of Hong Kong's founding principles, the rule of law, finds its judicial autonomy under threat by a CPG who is capable of interpreting the Basic Law and even overruling the Court of Final Appeals.
Ultimately, the authors in this collected volume more than accomplish their goal of giving a very detailed overview of the political situation in Hong Kong since the 1997 handover. The volume is presented as a textbook and would be very suitable for a high-level seminar or as a reference guide for experts. Each of the authors is able to effectively communicate very intricate systems and policies while also presenting possible solutions to the dilemmas affecting the island.
Better synergy between the chapters would be welcome, however. For instance, the nuances presented in the first chapter on the difference between an “executive-led” and “executive-driven” government are largely ignored in the following chapters. Finally, it might be beneficial to present a less economically driven argument, especially in the field of social policy, which is understood almost purely in terms of expenditure—a more holistic understanding of welfare to present all its complicated dimensions beyond the financial would round off the analysis well.
