Lecture 6: The Road to Handover and Political Development After 1997 PDF

Lecture 6 The Road to Handover and Political Development After 1997 1  All course materials, including anything accessible on Moodle, should not be circulated without the instructor’s permission.  All materials are solely for academic purposes....

Lecture 6 The Road to Handover and Political Development After 1997 1  All course materials, including anything accessible on Moodle, should not be circulated without the instructor’s permission.  All materials are solely for academic purposes. 2 1. Review of the Previous Lecture 2. The Sino-British Negotiations 3. Hong Kong’s Political System 4. Consultative Politics in Hong Kong 3  Colonial Governance ▪ Letters Patent & Royal Instructions ▪ Executive Council & Legislative Council  Governance Problems in the 50-60s: Living conditions, corruption, working conditions, living expense…  MacLehose’s Social Reforms ▪ Public housing: 10 years housing plan ▪ Development of New Towns: Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin and Tuen Mun ▪ Expansion of civil servant forces ▪ Country park planning ▪ 6 years free education, later became 9 years ▪ ICAC 4  After Murray MacLehose (1972-1982):  Edward Youde (1982-1986)  David Wilson (1987-1992)  Chris Patten (1992-1997) 5  Three unequal treaties: 1. Treaty of Nanking (1842): The Qing government ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain. 2. Convention of Peking (1860): The Qing government ceded Kowloon Peninsula to Britain. 3. Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory (1898): The Qing government “leased” the New Territories to Britain for 99 years. 6 Source: Lands Department 7 Source: Wikipedia 8  The British started negotiation with China in late 1970s.  “A declassified secret document prepared for newly elected British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in June 1979 warns of the upcoming issue of the lease to Hong Kong's New Territories” (Griffiths, 2017). 9  In 1976, the director of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Jimmy McGregor, “warned that investors would need assurances from the PRC government before making long-term investment in Hong Kong” (Carroll, 2007, p. 177).  “… the authorities in London cannot simply ignore the expiry of the New Territories lease. Bankers and investors too are unlikely to do so. In the mid-1980s, many major projects in the New Territories will have an investment horizon beyond 1997, and bankers will need more concrete legal assurances to persuade them to provide loans for such projects…” (Cheng, 1984, p. 28)  In March 1979, Murray MacLehose flew from Hong Kong to Beijing to explain Hong Kong’s problems. 10  During MacLehose’s visit to Beijing in 1979, Deng asserted the necessity of ending the British occupation of Hong Kong, upon which Hong Kong would be given special status by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government.  Deng Xiaoping: 1. “Hong Kong’s special position can be guaranteed in 1997, no matter how this question is solved.” 2. “To speak more clearly, Hong Kong can continue to implement its capitalist system for a rather long period from this century to early next century, while we, the Mainland, practise socialism” (Tam, 2012, p. 11). Source: SCMP 11  Initially the British did not intend to end their occupation of Hong Kong. Thatcher sought the PRC’s agreement to a continued British presence in the territory through an “exchange of sovereignty for administration”.  The PRC refused this proposal and refused to recognize the unfair and unequal treaties under which Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula had been ceded to Britain in perpetuity. 12  In fact, in 1972, the PRC emphasized that questions of Hong Kong and Macau are China’s own internal affairs.  In March 1972, the Permanent Representative of the PRC to the United Nations, Huang Hua (黃華), wrote to the United Nations Decolonization Committee:  The same year, on 8 November, the United Nations General Assembly passed the resolution on removing Hong Kong and Macau from the official list of colonies. 13  “Deng Xiaoping met Mrs. Thatcher on September 24, 1982, after the Chinese premier held talks with her”  Mrs. Thatcher, on her part, insisted that the three unequal treaties should remain in force. Source: wsj  She said that if China agrees to continued British administration of Hong Kong after 1997, Britain may consider China 's demand for sovereignty over Hong Kong. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC, n.d.). Source: Global Times 14  According to Deng, three issues were involved: 1. “First is the issue of sovereignty.” 2. “The second is that in what way China will administer Hong Kong after 1997 to ensure its prosperity.” 3. “The third is that the Chinese and British governments should have consultations to ensure that no major disturbances occur in Hong Kong in the 15 years leading to 1997.” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC, n.d.). 15  “Deng pointed out that ‘sovereignty is not negotiable.’”  “He said that ‘the political and economic systems and even the majority of the laws currently in force in Hong Kong may continue.’”  “‘Capitalism will continue to be practiced in Hong Kong.’ He suggested that ‘an agreement be reached by two sides to begin consultation on the issue of Hong Kong.”  “The premise is that China will recover Hong Kong in 1997’” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC, n.d.). 16  In March 1983, Margaret Thatcher stated in a letter to Chinese Premier:  “… provided that an agreement can be reached between the two sides on administrative arrangements for Hong Kong to guarantee the future prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and is acceptable to the British Parliament and to the people of Hong Kong as well as to the Chinese Government, I would be prepared to recommend to the Parliament that sovereignty over the entire Hong Kong would be returned to China” (Tam, 2012, p. 12). 17 A summary of stages of negotiation (Tam, 2012)  First stage: September 1982 to June 1983 (5 rounds of talk)  Second stage: July 1983 to September 1984 (22 rounds of talk)  19 December 1984, in the Great Hall of the People, China and Britain signed the Sino- British Joint-Declaration “which reflected the basic principles and politics of ‘One Country, Two Systems’” (Tam, 2012, p. 13). 18  The Sino-British Joint Declaration outlines 12 basic policies of the PRC regarding Hong Kong, such as the establishment of a Special Administrative Region (SAR), high degree of autonomy for the SAR, retaining the current social and economy systems for Hong Kong.  The Joint Declaration also stated clearly that the Government of the PRC will resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong starting from 1 July 1997. 19 Drafting of the Basic Law  The Basic Law was drafted by a Drafting Committee composed of members from both Hong Kong and mainland China.  A Basic Law Consultative Committee (BLCC) formed purely by Hong Kong people was established in 1985 to canvass views in Hong Kong on the drafts.  First draft was published in April 1988. The second draft was published in February 1989, and the subsequent consultation period ended in October 1989.  The Basic Law was formally promulgated on 4 April 1990 by the National People’s Congress. 20  In the Basic Law, Chapter IV defines the political structure.  In the colonial period, the political structure was largely an executive-led system. This has been retained in the Basic Law (Cheung & Wong, 2004).  The executive-led system means that most of the decision-making power is vested in the executive branch and the Chief Executive (CE) has a superior constitutional status. 21 Executive-led System (cont’d)  For examples, Article 50 of the Basic Law states that the CE holds the power to dissolve the Legislative Council once in each term of his or her office.  According to Article 48, the CE holds the power to decide on government politics and to issue executive orders.  The CE also holds extensive power in personnel decisions. Article 48 specifies that the CE can “appoint or remove judges of the courts at all level in accordance with legal procedures”; “to appoint or remove holders of public office in accordance with legal procedures”. 22 Executive-led System (cont’d)  According to Article 72, the CE may also request emergency sessions in the Legislative Council, and the President of the Legislative Council may give priority to government bills for inclusion in the agenda.  According to Article 54 of the Basic Law, the CE is assisted by an Executive Council (ExCo). “The Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be an organ for assisting the Chief Executive in policy-making.”  The ExCo consists of both official and unofficial members. The drafters of the Basic Law envisaged ExCo to be a loose group of appointees from different sections, exercising “administrative absorption of politics”. 23 The election of the CE  Annex I of the Basic Law is “the Method for the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region”.  According to Annex I, “The Chief Executive shall be elected in accordance with this Law by an Election Committee which is broadly representative, suited to the actual situation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and represents the overall interests of society, and shall be appointed by the Central People's Government.”  Adopted on 4 April 1990 and amended on 28 August 2010 and on 30 March 2021. 24 The Election Committee (EC)  The electoral reform in 2010 expanded the size of the EC from 800 members to 1200 members, and reform in 2021 from 1200 members to 1500 members.  After the 2021 electoral reform, Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021, the EC expanded from 1,200 members from four sectors to 1,500 members from five sectors. 25 The Legislative Branch  Some of the main functions of the Legislative Council (LegCo) (Article 73 of the Basic Law): ▪ To enact, amend or repeal laws ▪ To examine and approve budgets introduced by the government ▪ To approve taxation and public expenditure ▪ To receive and debate the policy addresses of the Chief Executive ▪ To raise questions on the work of the government ▪ To debate any issue concerning public interests ▪ To endorse the appointment and removal of the judges of the Court of Final Appeal and the Chief Judge of the High Court 26  The Composition of the Legislative Council Type of Seats Number of Seats 1998 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2021 Returned by 20 24 30 30 35 35 20 geographical constituencies Returned by 30 30 30 30 35 35 30 functional constituencies Returned by 10 6 N/A 40 election committee Total 60 60 60 60 70 70 90 27 The Judiciary  Hong Kong is a common law jurisdiction.  Article 81 of the Basic Law sets out the structure of Hong Kong Courts: “The judicial system previously practised in Hong Kong shall be maintained except for those changes consequent upon the establishment of the Court of Final Appeal of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.”  Article 84 : “The courts of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall adjudicate cases in accordance with the laws applicable in the Region as prescribed in Article 18 of this Law and may refer to precedents of other common law jurisdictions”. 28 The Judiciary (cont’d)  The courts of the Hong Kong SAR enjoys high degree of judicial independence. ▪ According to Article 85: “The courts of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall exercise judicial power independently, free from any interference. Members of the judiciary shall be immune from legal action in the performance of their judicial functions.”  The Court of Final Appeal of the Region also enjoys the power of final adjudication. ▪ According to Article 82: “The power of final adjudication of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be vested in the Court of Final Appeal of the Region, which may as required invite judges from other common law jurisdictions to sit on the Court of Final Appeal.”  Article 158: The power of interpretation of the Basic Law shall be vested in the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (SCNPC) 29  Hong Kong as a “hybrid regime” (Ma, 2011; Lam, 2018).  A hybrid regime refers to a regime that consists of both electoral and non- electoral elements.  Consultative politics: “the willingness to consult the population” for public decision-making (Lam, 2018, p.125). 30 Consultative politics in the colonial era:  “The Executive Council (ExCo) functioned as the governor’s colonial cabinet which comprised prominent figures and top civil servants, while the Legislative Council (LegCo) mainly served to endorse the government’s proposals. Alongside the ExCo, an elaborated advisory system was developed to achieve the principle of government by consultation.”  “With the continuous cooptation of prominent professional and business elites through the ExCo and the advisory bodies, these influential groups were given special status and prone to feel that they were part of the system and that their interests had been taken into account.” (Lam, 2018, p. 125) 31  Administrative Absorption of Politics: A process through which the governing elites co-opt or assimilate the socio-economic elites into the political- administrative decision-making bodies, thus, attaining an elite integration on the one hand and a legitimation of political authority on the other (King, 1975).  1970s: consultative politics began to emerge in major social policy areas to solicit public comments.  “Green Paper” and “White Paper” consultations: ▪ Green paper = issued for the sake of stimulating public discussion; ▪ White paper = government’s official policy position.  Consultative politics represents a process of building consensus through consultation so as to strengthen the legitimacy of certain policy proposals through non-electoral measures. 32  In 2007, “the government explicitly named ‘civic engagement’ as a means to achieve good governance.” (Lam, 2018, p. 128). Around 30 public consultation exercises per year.  Civic engagement = consultative politics refined. For example, in the Kai Tak Planning Review (2004-2007) (Lam, 2018, p. 128): ▪ “the public was allowed to play a role in shaping the agenda and was invited to a process of collective envisioning in the very early stage of engagement” ▪ “the government also introduced more Figure from (Lam, 2018, p. 129) unprecedented ways to actively engage the stakeholders, such as design forums, public forums, and focus groups, rather than just relying on regular consultation papers” 33  According to Lam (2018), “Civic engagement co-exists with traditional methods of consultation and is subsumed under an executive-led structure” (p. 135).  Consultative politics under an executive-led structure, according to Lam (2018, p. 135), means that: ▪ “On the one hand, the government has to open up considerable parts of its policy agenda and to actively involve the public in major policy areas.” ▪ “‘Collaboration’ and ‘participatory public’ have become the government’s discourse in defining its relationship with civil society, so as to persuade the public that they possess a certain degree of ownership and influence in policy-making.” ▪ “On the other hand, the government has not compromised its power in making the final decisions” 34  In addition to public consultation, advisory bodies are also an important feature of the consultation practices.  During the colonial era, the colonial government relied on advisory bodies to co-opt business-professional elites.  Some scholars have argued that the advisory system under the executive-led tradition was perceived to be important for maintaining effective governance, political stability, and economic prosperity in colonial Hong Kong. 35  Article 65 of the Basic Law: “The previous system of establishing advisory bodies by the executive authorities shall be maintained.”  One example is that the total number of advisory and statutory bodies increased from 284 in 1997 to 467 in 2013. This demonstrates that consultation remains to be an important feature of Hong Kong. 36  In the 70s, issues concerning Hong Kong’s future were already tabled.  The Sino-British Negotiations started in the early 1980s, and the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed in December 1984.  The Basic Law, which was promulgated in 1990, sets out the basic political structure of Hong Kong. 37  Carroll, J. M. (2007). A concise history of Hong Kong. Rowman & Littlefield.  Cheng, J. Y. S. (1984). Hong Kong: In search of a future. Oxford University Press.  Cheung, A. B. L., & Wong, P. C. W. (2004). Who advised the Hong Kong government? The politics of absorption before and after 1997. Asian Survey, 44(6), 874-894.  Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, HKSARG (2021). A Layman's Guide to the Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021. https://www.cmab.gov.hk/improvement/filemanager/content/pdf/en/resource- centre/Electoral-Leaflet.pdf  Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, HKSARG (2021). Booklet. https://www.cmab.gov.hk/improvement/filemanager/content/pdf/en/resource-centre/booklet.pdf  Griffiths, J. (2017, June 22). The secret negotiations that sealed Hong Kong's future. CNN World. https://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/18/asia/hong-kong-handover-china-uk-thatcher/index.html  King, A. Y. (1975). Administrative absorption of politics in Hong Kong: Emphasis on the grass roots level. Asian Survey, 15(5), 422–439.  Lam, K. C. Y. (2018). Consultative politics refined: The precarious development of civic engagement in post-colonial Hong Kong. In T. L. Lui, S. Chiu, & R. Yep (Eds.). Routledge handbook of contemporary Hong Kong (pp. 123-138). Routledge.  Ma, N. (2011). Hong Kong’s democrats divide. Journal of Democracy, 22(1), 54-67.  Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (n.d.). The Chinese government resumed exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong. https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/ziliao_665539/3602_665543/3604_665547/t18032.shtml  Tam, M. W. C. (2012). The Basic Law and Hong Kong: The 15th Anniversary of Reunification with the Motherland. The Working Group on Overseas Community of the Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee.  United Nations (1972). Letter dated 8 March 1972 from the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations addressed to the Chairman of the Special Committee. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3895944?ln=en  Vogel, E. F. (2013). Deng Xiaoping and the transformation of China. Harvard University Press. 38