Hong Kong Government Structure (1842-1941) PDF

Political & Institutional Changes in Hong Kong in the early 20th century Structure of the HK Government in the early 20th century (1842-1941) A. The Governor C. The Executive Council (Decision-making ~ Head of the HK Gov’t (e.g Henry Pottinger was t...

Political & Institutional Changes in Hong Kong in the early 20th century Structure of the HK Government in the early 20th century (1842-1941) A. The Governor C. The Executive Council (Decision-making ~ Head of the HK Gov’t (e.g Henry Pottinger was the system) 1st Governor of HK in 1843) ~ headed by the Governor ~ Representative of the British Crown ~ discuss and examine policies with the governor ~ Granted with certain powers according to the and give consultative advice Letters Patent (英皇制誥) and the Royal Instructions ~ consisted of official & unofficial members (皇室訓令) ~ official members : selected from gov’t officials e.g. chair the Executive and Legislative Councils ~ unofficial members : social elites appointed by e.g. appoint all members of the above 2 Councils the governor e.g. call meetings of Executive Council & make final decisions e.g. law-making : veto/approve or endorse Leg. Council’s bills e.g. Commander-in-chief of the British Forces in HK B. Colonial Secretariat (Administrative System) D. The Legislative Council (Consultative ~ Chief Secretary : directed all administrative system) departments + head of the civil service ~ headed by the Governor ~ Financial Secretary : formulated fiscal & ~ a law-making institution economic policies, e.g. gov’t budget, finance, ~ functions : examine and pass bills + control commerce, industry, etc public expenditure + monitor government’s ~ Attorney General : drafted law articles + gave performance advice on legal matters for all administrative depts. ~ consisted of official & unofficial members  Heading all government departments ~ all were appointed by the governor E. The Courts of Justice (Judicial System) ~ an independent judicial system ~ tried all criminal cases prosecuted by the Attorney General + solve civil disputes ~ it comprised of : a) The Supreme Court b) District Court c) The Magistrates’ Court  headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court  final adjudication rested on the Privy Council of Britain 1  Political & Institutional Changes in Hong Kong in the early 20th Century A. Background B. Factors leading to the changes 1. Implementation of British colonial rule 1. Increasing economic strength of British merchants in HK ~ power of British merchants increased day by day in the late ~ Britain seized HK to establish its strategic 19th century trading port in the Far East e.g. Jardine, Matheson & Co. ~ Britain centralized the power of the e.g. Butterfield and Swire Company Governor in order to ensure the effective  they requested for more political rights control over HK  the colonial gov’t had to delegate partial power to these  the governing team was formed by the British merchants by raising the no. of unofficial members of British the two Councils  constitutional reform was rejected e.g. David Jardine & Joseph Edger became the unofficial  limited representativeness of the HK members of the Legislative Council government was shown in the early 20th e.g. James Jardine Bell-lrving became the unofficial member century of the Executive Council 2. Increasing economic strength of the Chinese ~ the Chinese grew stronger economically in the late 19th century e.g. Hoh Fuk-tong’s family e.g. Robert Hotung’s family  over 90% of the tax revenue came from the Chinese  the colonial gov’t had to recruit these Chinese elite to assist in governance e.g. 1880. Ng Choy became the 1st Chinese unofficial member of the Legislative Council 3. Increasing population of Chinese forming the majority of the society ~ the Chinese formed the majority of the society ~ due to language barrier, the British had to rely on the ‘Westernized’ Chinese elites to act as intermediaries in governing the large no. of Chinese people ~ Also, Br hoped to stabilize the political situation after the Guangdong-HK General Strike in 1925-26  more Chinese elites were needed to be absorbed into the administration e.g. in 1926 Chow Shouson was appointed by Governor Clementi (金文泰) to be the 1st Chinese unofficial member of the Executive Council 2  Political & Institutional Changes in Hong Kong in the early 20th Century Major characteristics & development of HK’s political system (1900-1941) A. Executive-led government 1. Governor holding all powers 3. Colonial Secretariat holding the power to 1. Power of the Governor initiate legislation a. executive power ~ Procedure : ~ all important gov’t policies & decisions had to be  Colonial Secretariat made leg. proposals approved by the Governor  approved by Exe. Council ~ ex-officio Chairman of the Exe. Council & could veto  drafted into bills the decision of the Executive Council  passed back to Exe. Council for evaluation b. legislative power  the bills received 3 readings by the Leg. Council ~ no bills could become laws without his approval  finally signed by the Governor as a law ~ ex-officio Chairman of the Leg. Council & had veto  the legislative procedure was also executive- power & casting vote led in nature c. appointment power 4. Co-ordination between the Legislative Council ~ could appoint gov’t officials, judges and Justices of & the Executive Council the Peace (JPs) ~ the majority of the Exe. & the Leg. Councillors d. judicial power were officials members ~ served as the nominal Commander-in-chief of the  they took the same stance as the gov’t British Forces in HK ~ Some official & unofficial Leg. Councillors were ~ could grant pardons or reduce penalties to any law also the members of the Exe. Council offenders e.g. Colonial Secretary Claude Severn 2. Constraints on the power of the Governor e.g. Colonial Treasurer Charles Messer Constraints on the Governor e.g. Attorney General Joseph Kemp a. imposed by the British gov’t  concurrent official members of two Councils in ~ the British gov’t could appoint and dismiss Governor 1922 ~ high-ranking officials were appointed by the Br. e.g. Barrister Henry Pollock gov’t, e.g. the Chief Justice (Governor had no power to e.g. Alexander Stephen (Chief Manager of HSBC) reject)  concurrent unofficial members of two Councils ~ Governor had to return to London to report his work  able to explain the new policies or bills in the yearly Leg. Council meetings ~ the Br. Forces in HK was actually under the direct  easier for gov’t to propose, pass & carry out command of the Ministry of Defence in Britain policies b. other constraints 5. Conclusion ~ though the Governor could appoint gov’t officials, he ~ apparently, the political system in HK involved always follow the advice of the Public Service checks & balances among the executive, legislative Commission & Judicial Service Commisssion & judicial authorities ~ the Governor was still a civil servant in the Br. gov’t ~ in practice, the Governor held all powers ~ the Governors needed to get along well with the Br.  the Exe & Leg Councils were mainly advisory in merchants in HK nature 3  Political & Institutional Changes in Hong Kong in the early 20th Century Major characteristics & development of HK’s political system (1900-1941) B. Appointment system lacking representativeness 1. Governor & principal officials 3. Members of the Sanitary Board (Urban ~ Governor & principal officials were appointed by the Council) British gov’t ~ in 1883, the Colonial gov’t set up the Sanitary e.g. Commander of British Forces Board to improve the sanitary conditions of HK e.g. Colonial Secretary ~ at the outset, Sanitary Board only consisted of e.g. Attorney General official members e.g. Financial Secretary ~ in 1886, 4 more unofficial members were e.g. Chief Justice appointed  the appointment system shows that the gov’t lacked ~ in 1887, 2 more unofficial members were elected representativeness (only taxpayers from the list of jurors could vote) ~ in 1936, the Sanitary Board was renamed the Urban Council  unofficial members increased to 8 (only 2 were elected) (3 mandated to be Chinese)  the Sanitary Board was the 1st representative advisory institution though the representativeness was very limited 2. Members of the Executive & Legislative Councils 4. Domination of governing power by the British ~ at the very beginning of the British rule, Exe. & Leg. ~ most governing positions were dominated by the Councils only consisted of official members British, including the Governor, senior officials, ~ Before 1941, 3 unofficial Executive Councillors members of the Leg. & Exe. Councils while 8 unofficial Legislative Councillors were e.g. During the administration of Governor Cecil appointed Clementi (1925-30 in office)  the appointment system ensured the two Councils e.g. Colonial Secretary : Thomas Southorn (British) would support the Governor’s decision e.g. Colonial Treasurer : Charles Messer (British)  however, it shows that the gov’t lacked e.g. Attorney General : Joseph Kemp (British) representativeness  the domination of the British in the governing positions shows that the gov’t lacked representativeness 4  Major characteristics & development of HK’s political system (1900-1941) C. Raising the status of Chinese in a limited scale 1. Recruiting the Chinese elite a) Tung Wah Group of Hospitals & Po Leung Kuk ~ due to the increasing importance of the ~ in 1872, Tung Wah Hospital was founded Chinese merchants ~ Mainly served the Chinese in need by providing medical care,  the local Chinese took up more relief work, education, delivery & funeral services unofficial seats in the two Council & the ~ in 1931, it expanded into the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Sanitary Board with the Secretary for Chinese Affairs to be the consultant e.g. in 1926, Chow Shouson was appointed ~ in 1878, Po Leung Kuk was founded by Governor Clementi to be the 1st Chinese ~ it aimed at caring for the young and protecting the innocent unofficial member of the Exe. Council  both associations assisted the gov’t in carrying out the e.g. in 1929, 3 out of 8 unofficial members welfare programmes & dealing with pol. issues in the Leg. Council were Chinese (Chow e.g. in 1922, they acted as the moderator in the Seamen’s Strike Shouson, Robert Kotewall, Tso Seen-wan) e.g. in 1925, TWH urged the Chinese associations in China & e.g. in 1936, 3 out of 8 unofficial members oversea to stop supporting the Guangdong-HK General Strike & in the Urban Council had to be Chinese persuading the workers to cease the strike  the Colonial gov’t could use these Chinese to counter the anti-colonial force b) District Watch Force  lay a solid basis for governing HK ~ Founded in 1866 as a way to remedy the deficiency of the police force ~ in 1891, 12 Chinese leaders (e.g. Ho Kai, Ho Fok) formed the 2. Establishing communication with District Watch Committee to oversee the operation of the Force Chinese associations through Secretariat  became the advisory body on critical Chinese affairs for Chinese Affairs c) Chinese mutual-aid associations ~ in 1913, the Colonial gov’t set up the ~ e.g. Kaifong welfare associations, clan associations Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, headed by  helped the Chinese to settle disputes, find jobs & provide the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, to deal medicine & financial assistance with the Chinese Affairs  the gov’t needed these associations to compensate for its lack e.g. issuing hawking licenses of social welfare services e.g. validating the Chinese translation of official doc e) Heung Yee Kuk e.g. handling complaints of Chinese ~ In 1926, Governor Clementi set up Heung Yee Kuk after the Guangdong-HK General Strike in order to facilitate ~ the Colonial gov’t seldom offered social communication between the local inhabitants in the N.T. and assistance to the Chinese but relied on the the gov’t support of the Chinese associations e.g. Po Leung Kuk, Heung Yee Kuk ~ its duties include monitoring the land policies of the gov’t, protecting the interest of the local inhabitants to show respect for traditional Chinese customs  Heung Yee Kuk served as a bridge for communication between the gov’t and the local communities 5  Political & Institutional Changes in Hong Kong in the early 20th Century Major characteristics & development of HK’s political system (1900-1941) D. Adoption of both oppressive & conciliatory measures 1. Oppressive measure 2. Conciliatory measures ~ the Governor & senior officials were all British ~ many Chinese traditions & customs were ~ the Chinese could only take up junior positions in the retained civil service e.g. the gov’t permitted Man Mo Temple to act as e.g. no Chinese could become the inspector of police an arbitrator e.g. no Chinese could take the posts of Administrative e.g. men in HK could have multiple wives Officers e.g. women among the rural inhabitants in the  Chinese upward mobility was limited N.T. had no right to inherit land & property ~ insignificant no. of Chinese members in 2 Councils ~ entrusted Chinese associations with social e.g. in 1926, though the Br gov’t approved the nomination welfare matters of Chow Shouson as the unofficial Executive Councillor, e.g. Tung Wah Group of Hospitals the Exe. Councillors were no longer allowed to access to e.g. Po Leung Kuk confidential documents e.g. Heung Yee Kuk e.g. in 1929, only 3 out of 8 unofficial members in the Leg. Council were Chinese ~ all high-ranking gov’t officials had Chinese names ~ English was adopted as the only official language ~ English language courses were provided by gov’t schools, such as King’s College, Queen’s College ~ in 1904, the gov’t passed the Peak District Reservation Ordinance ~ in 1918, the gov’t also passed the Peak District Residence Ordinance  the Chinese weren’t allowed to reside in Peak District as it was designated as the residential area for Westerners only ~ Chinese weren’t also allowed to join the HK Club and HK Jockey Club  all these show that the Chinese were discriminated by the British under its rule 6  Political & Institutional Changes in Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation (1941-45) Background Major Characteristics (1941-45) ~ Japan invaded A. Rule by martial law HK on 8 Dec, ~ in Feb, 1942, the Governor’s Office of the Captured Territory of HK was set up 1941 ~ General Isogai Rensuke (磯谷廉介) was appointed as the 1st Governor-General ~ on 25 Dec, ~ the gov’t headquarters was moved from the Peninsular Hotel to the HK & Shanghai Banking Governor Mark Corporation building in Central Young surrendered ~ the gov’t consisted of the various ministries, including Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of to the Japanese Finance, Ministry of Econ. Affairs, Ministry of Transportation, etc. ~ this marked the  mainly responsible for different affairs under the Governor’s Office beginning of the 3  The Japanese ruled HK by the military, no civil administration was carried out years & 8 months B. Rule by district of Japanese ~ Regional offices were set up in the district level occupation of HK ~ Japanese army divided HK into 3 zones, namely HK Island, Kowloon & the N.T.  An Area Bureau was set up in each zone in which a Japanese was commissioned as the administrator ~ the 3 zones further broken down in to 28 districts  Each district had its own District Bureau in which the Chinese served as the chairmen & vice-chairmen  they handled the district affairs, such as material management, food distribution & recording census data C. Use of Chinese to control Chinese ~ in 1942 Rehabilitation Advisory Committee was set up to facilitate policy implementation  it was restructured into the Chinese Representative Council (華民代表會) & the Chinese Cooperative Council (華民各界協議會)  the former was an advisory board with Robert Kotewall as one of the members while the latter chaired by Chow Shouson helped handle local affairs & carry out policies ~ the Chinese leaders did reflect the views to the Japanese rulers concerning food, relief & fuel to the Japanese gov’ which helped stabilizing the society  the two Chinese Councils had no constitutional power to influence policy making D. Enforcement of high-handed and Japanisation policies ~ the Japanese banned the use of HK dollar & forced the locals to exchange their HK dollar into military yen ~ rationing was adopted (e.g. each person could only buy around 240g of rice daily) ~ repatriation policy was adopted & forced the locals to return to the mainland ~ all news broadcasts and cultural activities were strictly censored ~ private property was confiscated while strict Japanization policies were adopted e.g. Reign title of Showa was used to count years e.g. Official language of HK was Japanese e.g. Japanese language became a major subject in the school curriculum e.g. Roads were renamed Japanese (e.g. Queen’s roadMeiji Street) 7 8