Understanding Hong Kong Politics, Parties and Governance

1Understanding Hong Kong Politics, Parties and Governance

Prof. Lo Shiu Hing, SonnyDepartment of Social SciencesThe Hong Kong Institute of Education

Contents Basic Concepts Ten Basic Features of HK Politics Political Parties in HK: Features and Limitations Governance Conclusion Appendix 21. Basic Concepts (A) Politics :Who gets what, when and how (Harold Lasswell) ( )Authoritative allocation of resources and values for society (David Easton) ( )

3(B) Political parties : organizations that nominate candidates to participate in elections and grasp political power (C) Interest (pressure) groups /: groups with members having common interests and they may lobby government for achieving their group interests (e.g. labor, religious, business, etc) () Note: Political parties capture power, not interest groups

4 (D) The term government may have a number of definitions. For a broad one, it refers to the system by which a state or community is governed*, For a narrow one, it may just mean the group of people with the authority to govern a country or state*. (government) (the system by which a state or community is governed*) (the group of people with the authority to govern a country or state*)

*http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/government?q=government

5 Generally, the government system is comprised of three branches, i.e. the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary (we may also include the military and the police). In practice, we shall adopt the narrow definition of government in HK and that refers to the Chief Executive, the Executive Council, and the Civil Service. Note the definition of the state (in English): state refers to institutions (government system as mentioned above) governing a territory with population and boundary, and the state has legitimate coercion and its sovereignty.

6Article 62 of the Basic Law* stipulates the powers and functions of the HKSAR government as follows :(1) To formulate and implement policies ;(2) To conduct administrative affairs ;(3)To conduct external affairs as authorized by the Central People's Government under this Law ;(4) To draw up and introduce budgets and final accounts;(5) To draft and introduce bills, motions and subordinate legislation ; and(6)To designate officials to sit in on the meetings of the Legislative Council and to speak on behalf of the government .*http://www.basiclaw.gov.hk/en/basiclawtext/chapter_4.html

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Organization Chart of the HKSAR Government (as at 4 May 2012) (2012.5.4)

http://www.gov.hk/en/about/govdirectory/govchart/index.htm

8Role of the Civil Service has been described by the official yearbook, Hong Kong 2010, as follows ( 2010): The civil service is responsible to the Chief Executive and supports the Government in formulating, explaining and implementing policies, conducting administrative affairs, delivering public services, and undertaking law enforcement and regulatory functions. (http://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2010/en/pdf/E01.pdf)9 The civil service is a permanent, honest, meritocratic, professional and politically neutral institution. It employs about 4 per cent of Hong Kongs labor force. It provides staff for all government departments and other units of the Administration. At December 31, 2010, the total strength of the civil service was 156,700 (excluding about 1,500 judges and judicial officers and Independent Commission Against Corruption officers). 4%156 700 (1 500 )(http://www.yearbook.gov.hk/2010/en/pdf/E01.pdf)

10Major Characteristics of Hong Kong Civil Service1. Meritocracy (recruitment/promotion based on merit, not guanxi), relatively clean government, efficiency and effectiveness2. Political neutrality (civil servants carry out policies regardless of their individual views and right in exercising their own preferences in voting and elections)3. Weberian system of bureaucracy: hierarchy, meritocracy, formalism, clear division of labor4. Implementation of public sector reforms11Characteristics of Hong Kong Civil Service4. Public sector reforms aim at achieving 3Es (economy, efficiency, effectiveness as stressed by David Rosenbloom) and also accountability to the public5. Before July 1, 1997, Administrative Officers played a crucial role in policy making and the political system was led by the senior bureaucrats, but since the handover, the political system has been led by politicians appointed by Beijing and also the HKSAR Chief Executive, especially since the setting up of the Principal Officials Accountability System in July 200212Characteristics of Hong Kong Civil Service6. Hong Kong civil service has been subjected to rigorous internal and external checks and balancesInternally, the Audit Commission, the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints, and the Independent Commission Against Corruption are checking the powers and maladministration of government departmentsExternally, the civil service is constantly under the scrutiny of political parties, mass media, interest groups, and criticisms of ordinary citizens13(D) Governance -- how to govern a place with efficiency, effectiveness and economy (3Es: David Rosenbloom). Good governance entails a clean, effective and efficient government. Cleanness refer to a system with rule of law, anti-corruption agency (independent, powerful, effective) and a meritocratic civil service (civil servants recruitment, assessment and promotion based on merit and performance, not on personal networks, not on guanxi, not on particularistic criteria) () () ()

14 (E) Governance is complex, but it is ideally stable, with a political system having feedback from the government to inputs from the society, media, interest groups (inputs) (feedback) Note: Since July 1, 1997, the HKSAR governance has been under the challenges of external environmental changes (economic crisis in the region and the world) and internal social, economic and political transformations, particularly the rise of social movements, the assertiveness of civil society, the checks from the mass media, and the significance of public opinion it can be argued that HKSAR is now facing governability challenges15New Governance Crisis in Hong Kong?Professor Anthony Cheung has argued in his 2009 lecture at the HKIEd that there are three main crises affecting governance in Hong KongThe crisis of legitimacy, crisis of trust, crisis of identityIn fact, legitimacy is concerned about not only how the Chief Executive is selected, but also the election method of the Legislative Council.Distrust among politicians, between government and citizens, between Chief Executive and democrats persistHong Kong identity versus Chinese identity (cultural identity is separated from political one for many Hong Kong people)16Political System

Demands

Support

Inputs

Decisions

OUTPUTS

Feedback/ Environment Environment David Easton: Theory of Political System17Input:/Demands:Support:Outputs:Decision:

2. Ten Basic Features of Hong Kong PoliticsExecutive tends to be more powerful than the legislature (executive-led): executive refers to CE, ExCo, appointed officials, civil service or the government :

However, this executive-led system in Hong Kong has problems: there is no ruling party, but a loose coalition with weak coalition members who cannot defend government policies in public and in the legislature.18(B) Some degree of checks and balances (but NOT the American separation of power): judiciary can deal with citizens/groups complaints against the government; mass media as the fourth branch of government (checking the government daily and having pro-government, independent and pro-democracy media; but we need to be careful about some degree of self-censorship in some media organizations, including editors and reporters as well as media proprietors who have business interests in mainland China); legislature is not fully directly elected and it is constrained by the functional constituencies () /* --- LegCos power is constrained by the ways in which private members bills can be passed (by both FCs/directly elected sectors)

19(C) Role of public opinion does have some impact on Hong Kong government and politics/ (public opinion) : public opinion expressed in election results, through voting , of Legislative Council and District Councilsthrough mass media (holding press conference, opinion surveys conducted by universities and research organizations)(), lobbying government officials , groups activities (protests, rallies, petitions): good example of public opinion having impacts was the personal reason of former CE Tung Chee-hwa to step down in March 2005, especially after the half a million protesters on July 1, 2003 () 20037150200520(D) Rule of law no person is above the law () ; the concept of equality before the law is deep rooted in HKs common law system ; citizens can use legal channel to check officials against their possible abuse of power or maladministration ; the use of legal aid by some citizens ; the feature of adversarial procedures in the courts (having plaintiff, defendants, lawyers, and judges are politically neutral); procedural due process as the main feature of rule of law in Hong Kong (adversarial procedures) 21(E) Civil liberties freedom of speech, of press, of assembly, of association, of protests, etc. Indeed, some critics are worrying about police role in dealing with protests. (F) No-party ruling stratum : basically the HKSAR is governed by a group of ruling elites without political party background, except for a few principal officials (since 2002) who have party affiliations. ExCo is like the British Cabinet but ExCo members are mostly appointed elites, and none of the ExCo members is directly elected by citizens (2002) 22(G) Dual Roles of Chief Executive accountable to both the central government and the people of Hong Kong (see Basic Law) () (H) Semi-democracy nature of Hong Kong CE being elected by a group of 1,200 Election Committee members, he or she is not directly elected but has the mandate from a group of elites, and then the elected candidate is endorsed by the central government (he receives a certificate of endorsement). The role of central government is important in the process of approving or endorsing the elected candidate. Overall, Hong Kong has relatively high degree of autonomy from the central government (Beijing deals with national defense and foreign affairs) 1200/() ( ) 23(I) Hong Kong has a relatively politically neutral civil service, which formulated and implemented policies before July 1, 1997, but which mainly implemented policies after the POAS system introduced in July 1, 2002. Now POAS politicians are dealing with formulation of policies, assisted by the senior civil servants (AOs/EOs roles).But this civil service-led system is now changed to politicians-led one, with the POAS in place 199771 (POAS*) 200271(AOs**) (EOs ***) *Principal Officials Accountability System **Administrative Officers ***Executive OfficersAre politicians in Hong Kong administratively much better and more competent than senior civil servants? Debatable?

24(J) A small but assertive/influential/publicly supported political opposition: pro-democracy parties cannot be the ruling party, but they are effective in getting votes, having members elected to legislature, lobbying the government, checking and balancing the administration in a very assertive manner (paralyzing function?) () 25 (stronger than Macao, mainland China, but weaker than the opposition in Taiwan as the Taiwan system is characterized by rotation of political party in power. Taiwan is a Western-style democracy in which the president is directly elected by citizens via universal suffrage and the rotation of party in power does exist twice, 2000 as DPP Chen Shui-bian came to power, and then 2008 as KMT Ma Ying-jeou returned to power) ( 2000 20002008)26

(3) Political Parties in Hong Kong: Features and Limitations (A) Cadre type parties (small parties)without the prospect of grasping political power to govern Hong Kong: largest one is DAB, and most parties are small ones (DP, LP, NPP, LSD, PP, LP, ADPL), but they all cannot get more than half of the seats in the LegCo (cadre party) ()

27(B) Functions aggregate the interests of their constituencies and reflect views to the government(constituencies), changing government policies , competing in elections , trying to get more seats in LegCo and District Councils (remember the former Urban and Regional Councils were abolished in 2000) ( 2000) They cannot organize the government unlike Western style democracies with rotation of parties in power

28Composition of The Fourth Legislative Council(2008-2012)29Party Number of Seats Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB)10The Democratic Party (DP)8Liberal Party (LP)7Civic Party (CP) 5Federation of Trade Unions (FTU)4League of Social Democrats (LSD)1Others25Total 60HK LegCo and Political PartiesYearDP Frontier/LSDCPLPDABFTUTotal199813Frontier 4---109160200012Frontier 4---81116020049------------6101036020088LSD 3571046020126LSD 1 PP36513670

Note: In 2011, 23 of the 60 LegCo members were pan-democrats (DP, LSD, CP) and 37 pro-Beijing (DAB, LP, FTU). In 2012, 27 out 70 LegCo members are pan-democrats. PP stands for Peoples Power in 2012. Labor Party is new in 2012 and gets 4 seats in total in the LegCo.

30Implications of 2012 LegCo elections for Hong Kong Politics1. The rise of the democratic left is obvious, with the People Power grasping three seats this signals the popularity of the democratic left and the increasing support of citizens for this new political force2. The decline of the Democratic Party shows generational change in the pan-democratic front3. The persistence of pro-Beijing and pro-establishment domination in the Legislative Council4. With 27 democrats elected to the 70-member LegCo, the future of democratic reform appears to be bleak, pessimistic and difficult31 (C) Parties need the help of interest groups in elections and non-elections time : DAB relies on FTU and many societies (Fujianese association, New Territories Society) , pro-democracy parties backed up by Professional Teachers Union and Confederation of Trade Unions , LP has been backed by business interest groups (HK General Chamber of Commerce and Chinese General Chamber of Commerce), etc.(/)

32(D) Parties are particularly active before the elections, and their demands are quite often taken into consideration by the government months prior to elections (CY Leungs reorganization plan abortive) (E) Parties are divided ideologically (left -- pro-welfare and pro-reform vs. right -- pro-business and pro-status quo) ( vs ) 33(F) Since parties cannot be ruling parties, they tend to criticize governments for the sake of gaining votes and popularity; hence government needs to secure a coalition of pro-government groups/parties (DAB, LP, NPP) to get bills/policies passed in LegCo. ()/(G) Legislative politics is fierce in Hong Kong because of parties competition and rivalry: filibuster, throwing bananas, president ending filibuster and resulting in judicial review (confrontational politics) 34(H) Parties are regarded negatively as fighting among themselves, criticizing government without constructive impacts, and bickering among themselves in LegCo, but they do also have positive roles of enhancing checks and balances against the government (John Tsang's decision to follow Macao in distributing HK$6,000 to citizens in 2011 was due to parties lobbying), and they do aggregate the interests of citizens and successfully lobby government to change its policies both advantages and disadvantages () :(2011326000)

35 (I) Cross-parties alliance and consensus are rare in Hong Kong, mainly due to ideological disputes and differences. May 24, 2010, some pan-democrats reached a compromise with the Liaison Office to democratize HKs political system which is devising a new functional constituency, District Council (Second). 2010524

36(4) Governance (A) Basically, the Hong Kong political system works well, with feedbacks from the government to inputs from society, media, groups, parties (inputs) (feedbacks)(B) Clean government could be traced back to the formation of the ICAC in 1974 and corrupt culture among civil servants could change over time (powerful, single, legally empowered agency like Singapore and Hong Kong is very critical to clean governance) 1974 ()

37 (C) Basic Law and governance: some key areas of the Basic Law that we need to go through (eg. Article 158 interpretation of Basic Law, A73(9) impeach CE needs legislators motion, committee formed by Chief Justice, and then 2/3 majority vote) (D) Challenges to governance in Hong Kong (economics and politics can be mixed together): economic shocks and decline can easily bring about legitimacy problem of the government (legitimacy defined in terms of performance and procedures -- whether government performs well and whether procedures are followed) as citizens can perceive governance as ineffective * (Asian financial crisis 97-98 and its aftermath 1997 -98) ; * (legitimacy) () (performance) () (procedure)

38income gap between the rich and the poor leading to public distrust of the government (needs better social welfare, better housing policies ); the ways in which protests and demonstrations are handled by the government and police (recall 1956 and 1967 riots, 1989 Hong Kong protests, 1982 taxi strike, 2003 half a million protestors on July 1 1956196719821989 .20037150); social and identity conflicts (conflicts between environmental protectionists and police over High Speed Rail Link and the demolition of Queen's Pier ); and

39disputes over policies issues (such disputes are wide-ranging, including whether mainland pregnant women should be allowed to give birth in Hong Kong if their husbands are not Hong Kong people, whether mainland drivers should be allowed to drive their vehicles into Hong Kong )Eg: national education controversy before 2012 LegCo election leading to government concessionThis example shows the difficulties of governance in HKSAR, especially if policies were not sufficiently explained and promoted to the members of the public (E) Good governance needs the government to bridge the communication gap between the rulers and the ruled. Otherwise riots like those in 1967 could erupt 67

40(5) Conclusion Good governance means that the political system has feedback from the government to inputs from society and the system is in equilibrium (social harmony). (inputs) (feedback) ()But the political system is often under various challenges, socially, economically and politically. How to manage politics in a skillful way is a governance and a political issue -- who gets what, when and how, and the authoritative decisions on the allocation of values. --- Otherwise, government actions and policies can be challenged by various groups, parties, and citizens.

4142Political parties can play the role of intermediary, acting as a bridge between rulers and the ruled, and parties' role is similar to interest groups, and the mass media (except for the fact that parties want to grasp political power through elections). ()In short, understanding Hong Kong politics and political parties can help us comprehend the entire political system and the issue of governance in a much deeper way.

(6) Appendix Composition of Legislative Council (1947-1982) (1947-1982 )The Changing Composition of Legislative Council (1984-1995) (1984-1995)Provisional Legislative Council (1996-1997) (1996-1997)Composition of Legislative Council (1998-2012)Hong Kong Chief Executive Election 43Composition of Legislative Council (1947-1982)YearsEx officio (including the President)Nominated officialsNominated unofficialsTotal194763716195164818196467132619665813261973510153019765152242197751624451980518264919825182750Source:N.J. Miners, The Government and Politics of Hong Kong, London: Oxford University Press, 1981, p.126.()194763716195164818196467132619665813261973510153019765152242197751624451980518264919825182750 : (1947-1982 )Source: N.J. Miners, The Government and Politics of Hong Kong, London: Oxford University Press, 1981, p.126.The Changing Composition of Legislative Council in Hong Kong (1984-1995)YearsOfficialsAppointed MembersElected byFCECGCTotal19841730------47198511221212--57198811201412--57199141821--18601995----30102060Note: FC=Functional constituencies. EC=Electoral College or Committee. GC=Geographical constituencies.

Source:Lo Shiu-hing, Governing Hong Kong: Legitmacy, Communication, and Political Decay, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2001, p.166. (1984-1995):

:

:19841730------47198511221212--57198811201412--57199141821--18601995----30102060Source: Lo Shiu-hing, Governing Hong Kong: Legitmacy, Communication, and Political Decay, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2001, p.166

Provisional Legislative Council (1997)

The NPC decided on August 31, 1994, that the term of Hong Kong's last legislature under British rule would cease on June 30, 1997. This was because the 1995 electoral arrangements for that legislature were not compatible with the Basic Law and the NPC's decision on the formation of the first legislature of the HKSAR, passed by the NPC on April 4, 1990.

On March 24, 1996, the Preparatory Committee for the HKSAR resolved to establish the Provisional Legislative Council The same resolution also provided that the PLC should start operation after the first Chief Executive of the HKSAR was elected and should cease operation after the first Legislative Council of the HKSAR was formed, that its term should not extend beyond June 30, 1998The 60 Provisional Legislative Councillors were elected by the Selection Committee on December 21, 1996. On January 25, 1997, the PLC held its first meeting in Shenzhenhttp://www.yearbook.gov.hk/1997/eindex.htm

48 (1997) 60 http://www.yearbook.gov.hk/1997/cindex.htm49Composition of Legislative Council (1998-2012)Election MethodNumber of Seats19982000200420082012Geographical Constituency 2024303035Electoral Affairs Commission106000Functional Constituency 3030303035Total6060606070Source:Lo Shiu-hing, Governing Hong Kong: Legitmacy, Communication, and Political Decay, New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2001, p.166. (1998-2012)

19982000200420082012202430303510600030303030356060606070Hong Kong Chief Executive Election52YearMarkCandidatesVotesVote percentage( %)1996*Tung Chee-hwa 32080%Woo Kwong-ching Peter4210.5%Yang Ti-liang 369%2002**Tung Chee-hwa# NilNil

2005**Tsang Yam-kuen Donald #NilNil2007**Leong Kah Kit Alan 12315.38%Tsang Yam Kuen Donald64981.13%2012***Leung Chun-ying 68957.42%Ho Chun-yan 766.33%Henry Tang Ying-yen 28523.75%Hong Kong Chief Executive Election 53Remarks:* The number of Election Committee members in 1996 was 400.** The number of Election Committee members in 2002, 2005, and 2007 was 800.*** The number of Election Committee members in 2012 was 1200. Winning Candidate# The candidate was elected uncontested in the election.Sources:Cheung, Gary, Public opinion and the next chief executive, South China Morning Post, December 09, 2011.No author, Election Result, Electoral Affairs Commission, October 03, 2008, retrieved http://www.eac.gov.hk/en/chief/result.htm, accessed June 19, 2012.No author, Chief Executive Election result declared, Electoral Affairs Commission, June 16, 2005, retrieved http://www.eac.gov.hk/doc/chief/2005/pr0616be_web.doc, accessed June 19, 2012.No author, Election Result, Electoral Affairs Commission, October 03, 2008, retrieved http://www.eac.gov.hk/en/chief/2007ce_election_result.htm, accessed June 19, 2012. No author, Chief Executive Election result (with photos/video) Electoral Affairs Commission, March 25, 2012, retrieved http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201203/25/P201203250290.htm, accessed June 19, 2012. Questions for your thoughts1. Given the crises of legitimacy, trust and identity in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, if you were the think tank of the HKSAR leadership, what advice you would give so that the governance of Hong Kong would tackle these crises?2. When you apply the David Easton model of political system in Hong Kong, what are the problems in the HKSAR now? How would you solve them? Are inputs into the system far more than outputs feeding back to the system? Discuss.

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