Democracy Deformed: Hong Kong's 1998 Legislative Elections – and Beyond

2000 ◽  
Vol 162 ◽  
pp. 439-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Baum
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
Previous Article ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
Government Power ◽  
Electoral Democracy ◽  
Electoral Laws ◽  
The Government

Electoral democracy has been defined as “a system of government in which the principal positions of effective government power are filled, directly or indirectly, through meaningful, regular, free and fair… elections.” By this criterion, Hong Kong today falls short of being an electoral democracy. There are periodic elections, and there is a 60-seat Legislative Council (LegCo), at least some of whose members are chosen by universal adult suffrage. There are also a number of organized, highly articulate political parties whose legislative members are frequent, outspoken critics of the government and its policies. And there is a system of transparent electoral laws and procedures administered by a professionally neutral civil service, ensuring that elections remain free and fair. Yet for all its manifest electoral virtues, democracy in post-handover Hong Kong is highly constrained and confined, as noted in the previous article by Suzanne Pepper.

Political radicalization and fragmentation of the democratic blocs and the legislative council elections in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 372-384
Author(s):  
Chung Fun Steven Hung
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Special Administrative Region ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
Administrative Region ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
History Of ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
Historical Comparative

Purpose After direct elections were instituted in Hong Kong and the sovereignty was transferred from Britain to China, politicization inevitably followed democratization. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the pro-democratic political parties’ politics in Hong Kong in recent history. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted through a historical comparative analysis, within the context of Hong Kong after the sovereignty handover and the interim period of crucial democratization. Findings With the implementation of “One country, Two systems,” political democratization was hindered in Hong Kong’s transformation. The democratic forces have no alternative but to seek more radicalized politics, which has caused a decisive and ineluctable fragmentation of the local political parties. Originality/value This paper explores and evaluates the political history of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under “One country, Two systems” and the ways in which the limited democratization hinders the progress of Hong Kong’s transformation.

The Strategic Coordination under Quasi-SNTV: A Case Study of Hong Kong

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-175
Author(s):  
JUDY CHIA YIN WEI
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
Internal Conflicts ◽  
Strategic Coordination ◽  
Single List ◽  
Better Than

AbstractThis article aims to explore the effects of quasi-SNTV (Single Non-transferable Vote) under the Largest Remainder Proportional Representation (LRPR) in Legislative Council (LegCo) elections in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) after the British handover of 1997. Although the quasi-SNTV results from the inability of political parties to control their candidates, the Democratic Party (DP) and the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) can obtain more seats in total than they could by coordinating around one single list if they can successfully control their party label and the political camps can coordinate different parties and candidates. The quasi-SNTV in Hong Kong is notable for the strategic coordination found in its alliances, a key aspect that differentiates it from Colombia's quasi-SNTV. The DP's failure can be attributed to its internal conflicts and the lack of coordination among the pro-democracy alliances. In contrast to the democratic camp, which lacks any overriding authority to coordinate different parties and candidates, the pro-China's united front machinery facilitates coordination and helps the DAB perform better than the DP in quasi-SNTV.

The Impact of the Electoral System on Government Formation: The Case of Post-Communist Hungary

2004 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
CSABA NIKOLENYI
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Coalition Formation ◽  
Common Knowledge ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
Government Formation ◽  
Electoral Coalitions ◽  
Coalition Formation Process ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Conventional theories of government formation have assumed that the coalition formation process starts after legislative elections are over and the distribution of parliamentary seats becomes common knowledge. This perspective, however, ignores the important constraints that the formation of electoral coalitions may exert on the formation of the government. This article argues that the electoral system of Hungary provides very strong incentives for political parties to build electoral coalitions, which are also identified as alternative governments before the electorate.

Partisan Strength and Social Media Use Among Voters During the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council Election: Examining the Roles of Ambivalence and Disagreement

2018 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Chan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Friendship Networks ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
The Relationship

High identifiers to political parties are typically the most cognitively and behaviorally engaged during elections. Using a national postelection survey of voters ( N = 924) in the 2016 Hong Kong Legislative Council Election, the present study examined the relationship between partisan strength and a variety of social media behaviors. Findings showed that partisan strength was positively associated with social media use during the campaign. However, the relationships were generally only significant under conditions of lower ambivalence toward political parties and less disagreement among one’s friendship networks. Implications for the findings are discussed.

Suriname electoral reform will boost re-election bid

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Electoral Reform ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Oil Development ◽  
The Government ◽  
To Come ◽  
Run Up ◽  
Economic Outlook

Subject Political and economic outlook. Significance President Desi Bouterse’s government has proposed a new electoral reform designed to come into effect before the presidential and legislative elections in 2020. The reform aims to ban electoral alliances between parties, which opposition groups have argued would unfairly disadvantage smaller political parties. It represents an attempt by the Bouterse administration to shore up its position going into the 2020 elections, amid an atmosphere of popular dissatisfaction with the government. Impacts The reform would pave the way for a further NDP victory in 2020, when Bouterse will be 75 years old. The NDP will seek to maintain its legislative majority, which is likely to see a boost in social spending in the run-up to the elections. The dubious motivation behind the electoral reform is unlikely to deter investment; investors have largely priced in the NDP’s dominance. Although international influence in Suriname has waned, future interest in oil development could reverse this.

The securitization of refugees in Hong Kong: government, members of the legislative council and Chinese newspapers (2005 to June 2019)

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wai Ching Choy
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
Internal Security ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
News Reports ◽  
The Government ◽  
Poll Data

Purpose This paper explores how the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSARG) securitizes internal security, cultural identity and welfare system through refugee policy instruments. It also aims to explore the roles of members of the Legislative Council (Legco) and Chinese newspapers in the securitization process. Design/methodology/approach The author analyzed 6 landmark verdicts, 342 related documents of the Legco, 2,386 news coverages and 408 editorials/ column articles from 6 selected Chinese newspapers from 2005 to mid-2019. While documents of the Legco were collected from the Legco archives, news reports, editorials and column articles were gathered on Wisenews with the keywords, namely, refugees, asylum seekers, torture claims and non-refoulement claims. Findings The author argues that the advanced comprehensive security approach helps to comprehend the securitization process in Hong Kong. The HKSARG, Legco members of the pro-government camp and pro-government Chinese newspapers perform as securitizing actors who regard refugees as an existential threat to the referent objects, i.e. internal security, cultural identity and welfare system. Research limitations/implications There are two significant limitations, namely, the coverage of newspapers and the absence of poll data. This paper merely selected six Chinese newspapers, which do not cover English newspapers and some other Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong. It may neglect some important data. Additionally, owing to the absence of longitudinal poll data, the author chose not to examine the related materials. Originality/value This paper intends to be the first study to provide a longitudinal examination of the transformations of current refugee policies in Hong Kong.

A Study of Three Early Political Parties in Singapore, 1945–1955

1969 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeo Kim Wah
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
British Empire ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
British Government ◽  
Executive Council ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
The People ◽  
Universal Suffrage ◽  
The Government ◽  
Democratic Elections

Singapore became a distinct crown colony in 1946. Two years later the British Government began to introduce constitutional reforms in the island in accordance with its pledge in 1943 to foster the growth of “(Malaya's) capacity for self-government within the British Empire”. This colonial tutelage assumed two forms. Firstly, the government started to prepare for a fully elected legislature through which to transfer power to the people in the future. Secondly, the people were trained to work a system of democratic elections based on universal suffrage for all British and (after 1948) British Protected Subjects. The process, however, was fairly slow with the result that the governmental system of a normal crown colony remained basically intact in Singapore until 1955. Assisted by an advisory executive council and a legislative council, the governor continued to rule the colony with almost unlimited powers, subject only to the control of the Secretary of State for the Colonies at Whitehall. The legislature did not even have an elected majority until the Rendel Constitution was introduced in April 1955. Under this new constitution, the Labour Front-Alliance coalition government became the first elected government to assume office with a considerable degree of power in its hands.

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