Social policy in Hong Kong: From British colony to Special Administrative Region of China

Abstract

This paper discusses the preservation and change of social policy in Hong Kong in the process of its development from a British colony to a Special Administrative Region of China (SAR). It is argued by the authors that the role and strategy of the colonial government in social policy and social welfare seem to have been largely preserved by the new SAR government which advocates for a new vision for social development. It is also argued that without a democratic mandate, the SAR government continues to rely on stimulating economic output as a primary means to gain legitimation, while social policy and social welfare remain to be subordinated to economic growth. Traditional Chinese values continue to be upheld by the SAR government not only as a means to contain social welfare cost, but also as an instrument to strengthen social control. What is different between the colonial and the SAR regimes is perhaps the increasingly strategic position of Hong Kong as a window of China to the global economy.