scholarly journals The challenges facing the next Chief Executive of Hong Kong in 2022: managing growth, conflict, change and continuity

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Regina Suk-yee Ip Lau
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Central Authority ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Unique Character ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
High Degree

PurposeThis article outlines the challenges faced by the next Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in 2022 – the need to address economic problems resulting from Hong Kong’s slow growth; its inability to restructure its economy to broaden job opportunities and improve upward mobility for young people; and the government’s belated attempt to deploy innovation and technology.Design/methodology/approachThis article is based on the author’s in-depth analysis of the current situation and insights on the challenges faced by the next Chief Executive.FindingsTensions are inherent in the concept of “One Country, Two Systems”. Back in November 2012, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Office Zhang Xiaoming already reminded Hong Kong of the need to manage well three sets of relationships: (1) maintaining the “One Country” principle while preserving the SARs’ “separate systems”; (2) upholding Central Authority while preserving the SARs’ “high degree of autonomy”; and (3) unleashing the economic potential of mainland China while raising the competitiveness of the SARs. These three sets of relationships represent three fundamental difficulties in implementing “One Country, Two Systems”. However, Hong Kong kept ignoring Beijing’s advice and failed to resolve the tension between the mainland and Hong Kong SAR, culminating in the riotous events of 2019, which morphed into a dangerous, anti-China insurgency.Originality/valueThe next Chief Executive needs to mediate between the constitutional requirements of the Central Authority while preserving Hong Kong SAR’s “high degree of autonomy”, its unique character and lifestyle. He or she also needs to deal with continuity and change. Hong Kong cannot stand still, and should not allow itself to be lulled by the “50 years no change” mantra into overlooking the need to move with the times. Much reform needs to be implemented by the next Chief Executive to give people hope, faith in “One Country, Two Systems” and true love of the country.

The review of one country two systems of Hong Kong over two decades from the perspective of social development

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 511-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sum Yeung
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
High Degree

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the development of one country two systems of Hong Kong over two decades and examine its challenges and prospect. One country two systems is pragmatic and compromise principle and social arrangement for Hong Kong under China sovereignty. It has served to resolve some issues related to the future of Hong Kong after the end of British Colonial rule since July 1, 1997. There are lessons to be learnt as the merits and flaws of the system have been identified in the study as perceived from the perspective of social development. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on quantitative methodology. Data of public opinion polls conducted by various local universities on the development of one country two systems of Hong Kong have been employed in the study. Based on the data obtained from the relevant survey, different aspects of social development of Hong Kong under one country two systems has been examined and explored. Data are current and up-to-date to reflect the social mood of Hong Kong people toward one country two systems over the years. Findings The challenges and prospect of one country two systems of Hong Kong over two decades since the change of sovereignty have been identified in this paper. Hong Kong has remained the moist free market and the third financial center in the world. However, the high degree of self-autonomy as stipulated in the Basic Law has been fading way. There is social discontent of Hong Kong people on social and political grounds and there are high sense of mistrust to both Hong Kong SAR (HKSAR) government and the Central government in Beijing. This will provide a guideline to the government for improving the situation. Research limitations/implications The study is based on data obtained from various public opinion conducted by several local university on the development of one country two systems and how Hong Kong people feel about it. The data are current and up-to-date. However, there will be variation of findings as social mood and perception of Hong Kong people toward one country two systems may change due to the changes of social and political events. With these limitations, one needs to be careful while drawing the conclusion. Yet, the over trend of social development of Hong Kong can be seen. Practical implications The study will provide an overall view and assessment of one country two systems of Hong Kong over two decades after the change of sovereignty since July 1, 1997. The findings and discussion of social mobility, quality of life, income disparity, social and political movement and ethnic identity and its changes in recent years of people in Hong Kong are rather revealing. It will provide a reality check and yardstick for people who are concerned about Hong Kong society and its people under China sovereignty. Social implications The study and its findings will provide a useful guideline for people who are concerned about how Hong Kong people live under China sovereignty. Hong Kong to most of Hong Kong people is on longer a borrow place living under the borrowed time. The former British Colonial rule has been replaced by HKSAR government rule under China sovereignty. There is a high degree of mistrust toward both HKSAR government and the Central government in Beijing. People in Hong Kong keep fighting for democracy and high degree of self-autonomy. Hence, Hong Kong is still a free and open society under China sovereignty. Originality/value The paper contributes an original study on the development of one country two systems of Hong Kong under China sovereignty as perceived from the perspective of social development. There are important findings on social mobility, income disparity and issues of ethnic identity of Hong Kong people. The lessons of Hong Kong will provide an interesting case for people who care concerned about how people living in a former British colony has transformed the society into a thriving civil society under China sovereignty.

The influence of SAR government performance on people’s trust toward Central government

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-58
Author(s):  
Hin Wah Chris Cheung ◽  
Man Yum Larry So ◽  
Chi U. Francis Choi ◽  
Chin Fung Philip Chow
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Government Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
One Country Two Systems

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of Special Administrative Region (SAR) performance on the “trust” of Hong Kong and Macau people, who “live” under similar context of “one country, two systems,” toward Beijing Central Government. The different perceptions, relating to the abovementioned issue, of the young peoples’ are also investigated. Implication for civic education in these two societies will be brought to light. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts secondary data analysis on the captioned topic. To further illustrate the said issue, this study reviews and analyzes data from protest campaigns in both societies. Findings This paper finds that the performance of Hong Kong and Macau SAR Governments has different impacts on the peoples’ “trust” toward Central Government. It may attribute to the different perceptions about the role of Central Government and levels of democratization in these societies. Civic education emphasizing the “core spirit” of “One country, two systems,” roles of SAR and Central Governments could enable young people better comprehend their relationship with Mainland China and their role as SAR–Chinese citizens. Originality/value This paper is an exploratory study for providing implications for further research on this topic.

Trans-contextualized cross-border student choice under “one country, two systems” from Hong Kong to Mainland China for higher education

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Y.C. Te
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Parental Influence ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Educational Choice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
First Choice ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
Hong Kong Students ◽  
One Country Two Systems

PurposeThis article examines the complexity and dynamics of Hong Kong students' choice to pursue undergraduate education in Mainland China under the context of “one country, two systems.”Design/methodology/approachThis study mainly draws on primary data from in-depth interviews of 51 Hong Kong students studying in Mainland universities. Qualitative approach of inquiry is adopted to probe into the underlying reasons and processes undergone during the educational choice.FindingsAcademic factors push Hong Kong students away from local universities due to the failure of getting admissions in preferred programs or universities, and pull them toward Mainland universities due to attractions of specific universities and programs. During three phases of decision-making process, different influencing factors have conditioned three orientations: pragmatists enrolled in their aspired programs as the first choice, achievers utilized a fast-track path to enter elite universities and underachievers treated such study opportunity as a last resort for a degree.Originality/valueThis article contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of educational choice to higher education in Hong Kong at a strategic point of time. It explains how the macro political/policy and sociocultural contexts, the institutional influences of hosting universities and sending secondary schools, perceived parental influence and students' personal characteristics have shaped students' college choice.

scholarly journals The Law and Politics of the Struggle for Universal Suffrage in Hong Kong, 2013–15

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert H.Y. CHEN
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Political System ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Law And Politics ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
Universal Suffrage ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
One Country Two Systems

AbstractPost-1997 Hong Kong under the constitutional framework of “One Country Two Systems” has a political system that may be characterized as a “semi-democracy.” Hong Kong’s constitutional instrument—the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China—provides that the ultimate goal of the evolution of Hong Kong’s political system is the election of its Chief Executive by universal suffrage. Since 2003, a democracy movement has developed in Hong Kong that campaigned for the speedy introduction of such universal suffrage. In 2007, the Chinese government announced that universal suffrage for the election of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong may be introduced in 2017. In 2014, the Chinese government announced further details of the electoral model. The model was rejected by Hong Kong’s Legislative Council in 2015, with the result that the election of the Chief Executive in 2017 would not materialize. This article seeks to tell this story of Hong Kong’s quest for democratization, focusing particularly on the context and background of the “Occupy Central” Movement that emerged in 2013 and its aftermath. It suggests that the struggle for universal suffrage in the election of Hong Kong’s Chief Executive in 2017 and the obstacles it faced reveal the underlying tensions behind, and the contradictions inherent in, the concept and practice of “One Country, Two Systems,” particularly the conflict between the Communist Party-led socialist political system in mainland China and the aspirations towards Western-style liberal democracy on the part of “pan-democrats” and their supporters in Hong Kong.

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.

Jie Huang: Interregional Recognition and Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgments

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tan Lee Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Us ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
The Status ◽  
Recognition And Enforcement ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
The One

AbstractReview of “Interregional Recognition and Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgments” by Professor Jie Huang (Oxford and Portland, Oregon: Hart Publishing, 2014) which analyses the status quo of judgment recognition and enforcement in the Mainland China, Macao and Hong Kong under the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ regime. The book also presents a comparative study of the interregional recognition and enforcement of judgments in the US and EU.

Jie Huang: Interregional Recognition and Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgments, Oxford and Portland, OR: Hart Publishing, 2014, 352 pp. Hardcover £65/€84.50

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 381-385
Author(s):  
Tan Lee Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Us ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
The Status ◽  
Recognition And Enforcement ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
The One

AbstractReview of “Interregional Recognition and Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgments” by Professor Jie Huang (Oxford and Portland, Oregon: Hart Publishing, 2014) which analyses the status quo of judgment recognition and enforcement in the Mainland China, Macao and Hong Kong under the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ regime. The book also presents a comparative study of the interregional recognition and enforcement of judgments in the US and EU.

scholarly journals Electronic Waste Governance under “One Country, Two Systems”: Hong Kong and Mainland China

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 2347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Wong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Electronic Waste ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Policy Network ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
One Country Two Systems

China is one of the largest e-waste dumping sites in the world, and Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous territory in China, is also affected by illegal e-waste disposal and transfer. While the Chinese government implemented a waste import ban in January 2018, Hong Kong has not enforced Chinese policies under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework. Drawing on a policy network approach, this paper provides an explanatory framework for e-waste governance in Hong Kong and China, and identifies the major obstacles to shaping effective transboundary e-waste control and prevention. The paper argues that institutional arrangements play a dominant role in governing e-waste policy networks at the local level of governance in Hong Kong and China; however, a lack of accountability and capacity at the transboundary level can explain the different waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) management strategies in these two places.

One Country, Two Systems

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
The State ◽  
Deng Xiaoping ◽  
Systems Model ◽  
The People ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
The One

Deng Xiaoping (b. 1903–d. 1997) secured power and launched a policy program of economic reforms and an opening to the external world at the end of 1978. He also initiated a peace offensive toward Taiwan, and had to face a new challenge in China’s Hong Kong policy. In January 1979, the Chinese authorities announced a nine-point proposal for solving the Taiwan issue and guaranteed that after reunification, the existing economic and social systems, as well as the way of life, would remain unchanged. Subsequently, the new Constitution of the People’s Republic of China promulgated in December 1982 contains a new provision; Article 31 states, “The state may establish special administrative regions (SAR) when necessary” (available online). In March 1979, Sir Murray MacLehose (b. 1917–d. 2000), then Governor of Hong Kong, visited Beijing. He met Deng Xiaoping and formally raised “the New Territories lease” question. Chinese leaders gradually began to understand that the Hong Kong future issue could no longer be delayed. The view of recovery gained a distinct edge; Liao Chengzhi (b. 1908–d. 1983), head of the newly established Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, was given the responsibility of planning for the recovery of the territory. In April 1981, he proposed the “one country, two systems” model policy, which demonstrated the Chinese leadership’s liberation in thinking at that time. The leadership was eager to show the world that China could govern Hong Kong better than the British colonial administration; it wanted the Hong Kong model to have a significant demonstration effect on Taiwan. The policy played a key role in maintaining the confidence of Hong Kong people, and facilitated Chinese leaders’ success in the Sino-British negotiations on the territory’s future. In the decade and a half since Hong Kong’s return to China, the “one country, two systems” model has been working quite well. Stability and prosperity have been maintained; the rule of law and the freedoms enjoyed by the people have been largely intact. Hong Kong’s relative international economic competitiveness has been in slow decline, and the economy has become increasingly dependent on that of Mainland China.

The ties that bind: mutuality of political destiny between Hong Kong and Taiwan

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-148
Author(s):  
Wai Kwok Benson Wong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Bonding Effect ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
Negative Perceptions ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
The One ◽  
Ruling Party

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain how post-1997 Hong Kong has been perceived in Taiwan and to critically evaluate the demonstration effects of Hong Kong under the “One Country, Two Systems” policy on cross-strait relations. Design/methodology/approach “Today’s Hong Kong, Tomorrow’s Taiwan” has become a dominant discourse in cross-strait relations in recent years. The paper has adopted discourse analysis of selected texts during and after the 2014 Sunflower Movement to elucidate the disapproval of the developments of post-handover Hong Kong and the construction of the Movement’s self-identity. Findings It has observed the following arguments which shaped the prevailing perceptions among critics of the “One Country, Two Systems” policy: political infiltration of China in Hong Kong could be extended to Taiwan in the sense that the Beijing authorities would adopt the identical approach to manipulate Taiwan through the cross-strait trading agreements; negative perceptions and images of China and Chinese capitals as a collective aggressor and a threat, raising fear and worries in both Hong Kong and Taiwan; and Kuomintang, as a ruling party at that time under the leadership of President Ma Ying-jeoh, was dismissed by protesters as an incompetent gatekeeper and defender of Taiwan’s interests. Originality/value The pervasive sentiments and perceptions about post-1997 Hong Kong has been articulated discursively by the young activists in Taiwan and Hong Kong into a statement – “Today’s Hong Kong, Tomorrow’s Taiwan” – which has brought about a somewhat unexpected bonding effect between Hong Kong and Taiwan through a strong disapproval of “One Country, Two Systems” and the China factor, which has be reproduced, delivered and circulated in both societies since 2014.

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