Brian C. H. Fong

The Partnership between the Chinese Government and Hong Kong's Capitalist Class: Implications for HKSAR Governance, 1997–2012

Existing literature has long recognized that a partnership has been forged between the PRC government and Hong Kongs capitalist class. However, the implications of such a partnership for HKSAR governance have yet to be thoroughly explored. By examining the formation of this partnership and its consolidation after 1997, this article argues that the business sectors direct access to the sovereign state has fundamentally changed the dynamics of state–business relations in the HKSAR. As a consequence of the partnership between Beijing and the business sector, business elites have taken their concerns straight to the mainland authorities whenever they see their interests affected by the post-colonial state. This kind of circumvention has become a part of post-1997 politics, undermining the relative autonomy of the post-colonial state and resulting in growing cleavages within the state–business alliance during the first 15 years of the HKSAR. Whether and how such a partnership will evolve in the aftermath of the 2012 chief executive election remains to be seen.

One Country, Two Nationalisms: Center-Periphery Relations between Mainland China and Hong Kong, 1997–2016:

According to the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Basic Law, Hong Kong was to exercise a high degree of autonomy under the framework of “one country, two systems” after the British handover of its sovereignty to China in 1997. In the initial post-handover period, Beijing adopted a policy of nonintervention in Hong Kong, but the outbreak of the July 1, 2003 protest triggered a subsequent change of policy. Since then, Beijing has embarked on state-building nationalism, adopting incorporation strategies so as to subject Hong Kong to greater central control over the political, economic, and ideological arenas. Ironically, instead of successfully assimilating Hongkongese into one Chinese nation, Beijing’s incorporation strategies are leading to a rise of peripheral nationalism in the city-state and waves of counter-mobilization. This article analyzes mainland–Hong Kong relations on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the handover and offers insights from an emerging case study that builds upon the nationalism literature.

In-between liberal authoritarianism and electoral authoritarianism: Hong Kong’s democratization under Chinese sovereignty, 1997–2016

ABSTRACT On the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the handover, Hong Kong’s transition towards a full democracy remains unsettled. Drawing upon the contemporary theories of hybrid regimes, this article argues that manipulations adopted by electoral authoritarian governments have become increasingly common in Hong Kong today. As Hong Kong’s elections, opposition activities, and media have been increasingly put under electoral authoritarian-style manipulations, the city-state is now situated in the “political grey zone” in-between liberal authoritarianism and electoral authoritarianism and its transition into a full democracy remains nowhere in sight. The case study of Hong Kong will help enrich the existing comparative literature on hybrid regimes by developing a new “in-between category” and offering an interesting case of democratization of sub-national polity.

The politics of budget surpluses: the case of China’s Hong Kong SAR

In recent years when many Western economies are facing serious public debt crises and undergoing massive fiscal austerity, China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)’s experience is quite different as it has achieved successive years of huge budget surpluses and has accumulated an unprecedented level of fiscal reserves. Ironically, the strong budgetary position does not help the Hong Kong government formulate a well-received budget. Despite the huge budget surpluses in recent years the Hong Kong government remains conservative in increasing recurrent expenditure items and chooses to spend billions of dollars on various one-off relief measures and set aside the remaining surpluses in fiscal reserves. However, such a budgetary strategy fails to accommodate rising public demands, and public resentment of the budget has boiled over into waves of social protests. Currently, much of the existing budgetary literature is focused on the politics of budget deficits in Western democracies. This article will make a contribution to the literature by offering an illustrative case study of the politics of budget surpluses. Points for practitioners This article uses the case of Hong Kong to illustrate the political challenges facing policy-makers in a time of huge budget surpluses. For policy-makers, the lesson from the case of Hong Kong is that consistent budget surpluses, similar to recurring budget deficits, will give rise to continuous budget battles. More policy learning is necessary for policy-makers to share the experiences of handling political challenges arising from budget surpluses.

Executive-Legislative Disconnection in the HKSAR: Uneasy Partnership Between Chief Executives and Pro-Government Parties, 1997–2016

Since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on 1 July 1997, “governance crisis” has become the most popular term used by local politicians and academics to describe the politics of post-colonial Hong Kong. If “governance” is defined as “the capacity of government to make and implement policy” (Pierre and Peters 2000: 1), then it is obvious that Hong Kong is experiencing a general decline in the quality of governance under Chinese sovereignty: The HKSAR Government has appeared to be incapable of assembling a stable legislative majority for its policy initiatives and in face of criticisms and challenges from the Legislative Council postponement, and even withdrawal of legislative proposals is not uncommon (SynergyNet 2014, 2012).