Budget oversight in territorial autonomies: A comparative analysis of Hong Kong and Macao

2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232110338
Author(s):  
Brian C.H. Fong
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Survey Methodology ◽  
State Level ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
Systems Model ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
The Media ◽  
The One

Traditionally, comparative budgeting scholars have focused on analysing budget oversight at the sovereign state level. Budget oversight at the territorial autonomy level remains largely under-investigated. Drawing on the Open Budget Survey methodology, this study is a pioneering attempt to compare the budget oversight institutions and practices in Hong Kong and Macao under the ‘one country, two systems’ model. This study finds that the varying practices of budget oversight of Hong Kong and Macao are the consequence of their different bases of opposition politics, including democratic opposition, the media and civil society. This study extends the research focus of existing comparative budgeting literature from sovereign states to territorial autonomies. Thus, it has important implications for budget oversight analysis and policy worldwide. Points for practitioners This article uses comparative studies of Hong Kong and Macao to illustrate how different bases of opposition politics have led to varying practices of budget oversight. For policymakers, the lesson from the comparative studies is that the rise of democratic opposition, the media and civil society will bring about pressures for budget oversight. More policy learning is necessary for policymakers across democracies and semi-democracies to share the experiences of handling the politics of budget oversight.

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.

scholarly journals The Complex Interplay of EU-China and EU-HKSAR Relations

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Antonia Gough
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
Systems Model ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
The One ◽  
Democratic Norms ◽  
Systems Framework ◽  
Book Publishers ◽  
The Eu

Due to a unique colonial history, Hong Kong today operates under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework. In the years immediately following the handover, it was generally thought that this was working quite well. In recent years, however, tensions have arisen within the “One Country, Two Systems” model, most notably including the 2014 Umbrella Movement, the imprisonment of student protesters and various notable incidents like the disappearance of five book publishers. This article aims to uncover how consistent the EU is in promoting democratic norms in its relations with the HKSAR. Using discourse analysis of relevant EU documents, the article explores two things. Firstly, to investigate whether these tensions lead to potential (in)consistencies between what the EU says and how it in fact acts regarding disputes between Hong Kong and China. Secondly, since a large part of EU discourse stresses the promotion of values and norms such as democracy, this article analyses the consistency of this discourse.

The ‘One Country, Two Systems’ Model and Political Reform in Hong Kong: A twail Approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 404-429
Author(s):  
Fozia Nazir Lone
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
International Law ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
International Norms ◽  
Systems Model ◽  
Universal Suffrage ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
Legal Position ◽  
The One

This article seeks to elucidate the issues affecting political reform in Hong Kong in terms of China’s international law positions and practice. This involves reviewing Hong Kong’s unique legal position, the international law approach that China has adopted, and the manner in which China’s control of Hong Kong can coincide with respect for international norms and standards. In order to achieve this, concepts such as sovereignty, democracy and universal suffrage are examined.

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.

Postscript

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tan See Kam
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Republican China ◽  
Peking Opera ◽  
Mise En Scene ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
The One ◽  
Chinese Democracy

Peking Opera Blues presents a jiegu fengjin metafiction to the 1980s Hong Kong of the film’s making and release. This is done by Tsui Hark evoking a past (Republican China), that draws on historical hindsights for allegorizing lessons of history with respect to colonial Hong Kong’s post-1997 future under the “one country, two systems” provision. While Peking Opera Blues does not have an explicit agenda for exerting pressure on the powers that be and for swaying public opinion in favor of democracy as an alternative to political China’s authoritarianism, it is nevertheless a commentary on the long, unsuccessful, march to Chinese democracy and its impact on contemporary society, most especially Hong Kong. Tsui Hark achieves this by particular forms of editing and mise en scène, and also by referencing Chinese cultural forms such as Peking opera, mandarin duck and butterfly fiction, the “three-women” films, and Canto-pop and Mandarin songs.

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.

Hong Kong and the Limits of People Power

2003 ◽  
Vol 102 (665) ◽  
pp. 256-258
Author(s):  
Frank Ching
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Political System ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
The One

Hong Kong has little choice but to try to make the one country, two systems formula work. The alternative is not independence but absorption into the mainland's political system.

The emergence and transformation of self-determination claims in Hong Kong and Catalonia: A historical institutionalist perspective

Ethnicities ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Lecours ◽  
Jean-François Dupré
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Regional Autonomy ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
1997 Handover ◽  
The One

Using a historical institutionalist framework emphasizing the importance of transformative events, this paper seeks to explain the sudden emergence of self-determination claims in Hong Kong and their transformation into separatist ones in Catalonia. The paper argues that the inflexibility of the state in addressing moderate demands for regional autonomy has played a major role in the emergence and radicalization of these demands. In Hong Kong, the 1997 Handover from British to Chinese sovereignty was originally presented as an opportunity for self-governance under the principle of “Hong Kong People ruling Hong Kong” and the “One Country, Two Systems” formula. If Hong Kong nationalism was practically unheard of in the early years of the Handover, the unconciliatory attitude of the central government towards moderate demands for the actualization of the autonomy and democratization frameworks vested in Hong Kong’s Basic Law has directly contributed to the formation of today’s emerging self-determination movement. In Catalonia, the 2010 decision of the Spanish Constitutional Court to annul some articles of the reform to the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia and to interpret others narrowly represented a transformative event that took Catalonia onto the pathway of secessionist politics. The secessionist turn was then further fed by the on-going refusal of the central government to negotiate with the Catalan government, notably on the notion of a popular consultation on the political future of the Autonomous Community.

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