Society And Politics In Hong Kong

This book examines the government of Hong Kong since its handover to China in 1997, arguing that Hong Kong has been poorly governed and that this is what lies behind regular mass protests since 2003. It considers the different aspects of these government problems, and assesses prospects for the future.

This book reviews the political development of Hong Kong before and after 1997, in particular the evolution of state-society relations in the last two decades, to analyze the slow development of democracy and governance in Hong Kong after 1997. This book is a most comprehensive analysis of the multi-faceted changes in Hong Kong in the last 20 years. The scope of changes analyzed included state functions and institutions, political changes such as party development and development of the Legislative Council, and social changes such as social movements, civil liberties, etc. It helps the reader understand the crisis of governance of Hong Kong after 1997, and the difficulty of democratic development in Hong Kong over the years. The book covers: changing state institutions in Hong Kong in the last few decades; party development in Hong Kong; the changing role and function of the legislature in Hong Kong; the evolution of social movement and movement organizational forms; media freedom, civil liberties, and the role of civil society; and theoretical discussions concerning governance problems and state-society relations in Hong Kong. Special emphasis is placed on how these changes brought about a new state-society relation, which in turn brought governance difficulties after 1997.

"The major issues addressed in this book include: the social, historical, and international context; the legitimacy of educational policy and the challenge of bringing up citizens in the PRC; the present and future role of education in social class and gender stratification, the use of Putonghua and English in Schools, and, finally, comparisions between education in Hong Kong and the PRC and the potential for future convergence." -- BACK COVER.

This book captures the essence of Hong Kong's development in the past two decades from 1997 to 2017. It is broken into four parts — economics, society, politics and culture.Hong Kong's role remains as a gateway for global trading houses, businessmen, investors and traders. Hong Kong continues to be an open economy and has stuck to free trade policies, as one of the former four successful 'tiger economies' in East Asia. In the political and international relations realm, this book examines Hong Kong's relations with China, other major powers and the world at large. It also covers domestic developments, including legal developments. Other chapters in the book examine cultural developments in Hong Kong from specific case studies of iconic animation character to trans-boundary popularity of Hong Kong popular culture in China.With contributions from Alvin CAMBA, Henry CHAN, Yoshihisa GODO, Wing Lok HUNG, Sean KING, Tuan Yuen KONG, Tai Wei LIM, Carol MA, Samantha MA, Parama SINHA PALIT, Zhengqi PAN, SIM Japanese Culture and Gaming Society, Hiroshi TAKAHASHI, Ghim Yeow TAN, Katherine TSENG, Elim WONG, Kai Keat YEO and Chun Wang YEUNG, this book provides a snapshot of Hong Kong in the past twenty years and is a fascinating read.

The relationship between government and society in Hong Kong has become an intensely debated topic as the complexities of governance grow and the old strategies of consensus building without genuine public participation fail to satisfy. Increasingly interventionist, yet lacking democratic credentials, the Hong Kong SAR government finds itself more and more limited in its capacity to implement policies and less able to rely on traditional allies. A society dissatisfied with old forms of governance has become ever more ready to mobilize itself outside of the formal political structures. This collection of studies by leading scholars examines the Hong Kong government's efforts to reposition itself in the economy and society under the pressures of globalization, economic and political restructuring and the rise of the civil society. Drawing on changing theoretical conceptions of state, market and citizenship and on comparisons with other Asian economies,Repositioning the Hong Kong Governmentoffers new interpretations of the problems of governance in Hong Kong and puts forward positive suggestions for resolving them.

The world was watching Hong Kong as its sovereignty was returned to China in 1997. Many predicted that it was the doomsday of press freedom in the city. Now, a decade after the handover, this book provides an up-to-date review of the dynamic relationship between media and political power in the post-handover years. It covers seven key issues including the mapping of the changing boundaries of press freedom, the impact of media ownership change on editorial stance, the development of national and hybrid identities, the tension between self-censorship and media professionalism, the rising importance of government public relations, the power and limits of hegemonic discourse, and the countervailing force posed by collective actions and public opinion. These studies combine to reveal how the media are transformed as power structure is reconfigured and how the media may act upon politics in exerting their roles as the people’s voice. The book will serve as a reference for anyone who is interested in the evolution of political communication in a transitional society.