The politics of transition in Hong Kong : elections and the mobilization process, 1982-85

Abstract

This thesis is an analysis of the politics of political transition in Hong Kong, giving special attention to the politicization of specific sectors of the society during the crucial period immediately before and after the signing of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong. My study begins with a broad comparative approach, which applies the key concepts, ‘politicization’ and ‘depoliticization’, to explain the processes of decolonization in Asia and Africa in the post-1945 period, and to the specific situation of Hong Kong. It is argued throughout the thesis that many decolonizing societies have experienced varying degrees of politicization during the course of transition to independence. Many of them passed through a phase of mass mobilization and revolutionary struggle for independence in the immediate postwar period. Hong Kong has, however, been experiencing a unique course of political transition in the 1980s within a quite distinctive international and domestic environment, with sovereignty about to be transferred not to the local people but to Beijing. Still, Hong Kong society has been undergoing a significant degree of politicization since 1982-83. although the scale of political mobilization there is not likely to be intensified to become a large-scale nationalist movement as in other cases. Throughout the thesis, I argue that the politicization process in Hong Kong is to be discussed mainly in terms of China’s increasing involvement in local politics. The politicization process began in about 1983-84 with the increased participation of a small group of middle-class professionals and grassroots organizations who called for democratic self-government and minimum Chinese intervention in the internal affairs of Hong Kong. The ‘democratic movement’ was not a united one, however. Opposing the democrats was the group of conservative businessmen and professionals who defended the status quo. By 1985, the latter were being co-opted by the PRC officials to support the Chinese position on the matter of political reform. As the influence of the conservative sector became more dominant, the democrats had to fight much harder than previously to maintain even the possibility of a more open and accountable system of government for Hong Kong. I conclude that the degree of politicization in Hong Kong society is likely to remain limited, since China’s increasing influence in local affairs is becoming the most important factor affecting the scope of political activity. In the initial stages of the political transition, the governments of both Britain and the PRC were ready to tolerate a limited degree of politicization in order to ensure the co-operation of the people of Hong Kong in maintianing prosperity and stability. But if the degree of political mobilization goes further than what China will tolerate, it is highly likely that the PRC officials will crack down on criticism or political dissent when they take over formal control in Hong Kong after 1997. Show more