Out of the Shadow of 1997? The 2000 Legislative Council Election in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Edited by Kuan Hsin-chi, Lau Siukai, and Timothy Ka-ying Wong. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 2002. xviii, 364 pp. $26.00 (paper).

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.

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The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region : a study of its role, powers and functions in Hong Kong's political system

10.5353/th_b5053412 ◽

2013 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yu Gu

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Political System ◽

Special Administrative Region ◽

Legislative Council ◽

Administrative Region

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Reconstitutionalizing Politics in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China

Asian Journal of Comparative Law ◽

10.1017/asjcl.2017.21 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 27-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Swati JHAVERI

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Political Reform ◽

People’S Republic Of China ◽

Special Administrative Region ◽

People's Republic Of China ◽

Republic Of China ◽

Legislative Council ◽

Administrative Region ◽

Basic Law ◽

Democratic Constitution

AbstractThe question of whether constitutional law can protect, consolidate, and advance democracy has been considered extensively in multiple jurisdictions. The issue has not yet been considered in the context of one of the most problematic contemporary democratic transitions: Hong Kong’s, from an externally governed colonial outpost to a self-governed suffrage-based special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. The Basic Law of Hong Kong proposes the eventual election of the Legislative Council and Chief Executive of Hong Kong by some form of universal suffrage. These provisions are at the core of the ‘democratic constitution’ of Hong Kong. Achieving this goal requires consensus between the executive in Hong Kong, members of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, and the legislative body of the People’s Republic of China. Although not a formal constitutional requirement, any democratization efforts will also require popular buy-in from Hong Kong residents in order to function effectively. However, it is increasingly clear that the views of all concerned do not converge on how and when these constitutional aspirations should be realized. In addition, all parties have started moving outside of this constitutional framework when deliberating issues of political reform. This article looks at the problems in the constitutional design of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region that have resulted in this political deadlock. The article will then look at one solution to mitigate the effect of these design issues and to move forward again on the issue of reform: ‘litigating’ the democratic constitution in the courts. The article discusses the advantages of the courts in the process: primarily the capacity of the courts toreconstitutionalizepolitical debate on electoral issues. This article evaluates the largely unsuccessful use of the courts thus far by Hong Kong residents to correct and advance political reform. It considers possible reasons for the high failure rate in courts and proposes alternative litigation strategies that can better utilize the position of the courts to re-orient all parties to the Basic Law.

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