Hong Kong 2007-2017: a backlash in civil society

Abstract

Ten years ago, the development of civil society in the first decade of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) was analysed in terms of three discourses: civil society as a defender of its autonomy; civil society as the third sector; and civil society as a partner in governance. The conclusion then was that Hong Kong civil society had come of age; not only had its agenda been expanded, but there was also a diversification of values. Ten years on, this article updates the state of civil society, which can be described as both turbulent and vibrant. While Hong Kong society is deeply divided as a result of several mass mobilisations and the rise of localism, there has also been a mushrooming of counter forces in the form of social enterprises and informal groups aiming to help the underprivileged. Civil society has assumed a proactive and even aggressive role in protecting its values and autonomy (the first discourse), while its partnership in governance role has been seriously damaged (the third discourse). In its role as the third sector involving social capital (the second discourse), it has continued to flourish. However, there is a growing number of groups which spread ideas of exclusion and intolerance, and engage in practices like verbal abuse and physical violence, that are opposite to the values promoted by civil society. Accordingly, Hong Kong civil society is in urgent need of repair. If the un-civil values and behaviour are not checked, civil society will experience a downward spiral.

Keywords:

• Hong Kong
• civil society
• governance
• localism
• civic values
• autonomy

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Chan Kin-man and Christine Fang for very helpful discussions, and to Rain Lui who provided valuable research assistance.

Notes

1. Regina Ip, former Secretary for Security and a current legislator, announced her decision to run for the office as well. However, she did not secure the number of required nominations to officially enter the race (Ng & Lam, 2017).

2. One the three candidates was Mr Kwok-hing Woo, a retired judge. In his view, “Hong Kong as a community has become too polarised and fragmented” (Cheng, 2016). His campaign aimed to create a “fair, just, and harmonious society” (accessible at: https://woo-kwok-hing.com/en/). Similarly, the former Financial Secretary, John Tsang, entered the race to restore “trust, unity, and hope” to society (accessible at: https://www.johntsang2017.hk/en/index.html). The third candidate, former Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, launched the RECONNECT: Connecting for Consensus and a Better Future campaign (accessible at: https://www.carrielam2017.hk/en/wsn_0227_a/). She, too, felt that “discord in our society has hindered our ability to move forward” (accessible at: https://www.carrielam2017.hk/en/aboutme/).

3. As the one-child policy was in force at the time, some Mainlanders came to Hong Kong to give birth to their second baby.

4. These figures were provided by the Education Bureau. Various measures have to be in place to facilitate their travel to schools to accommodate the big surge of cross-border students. The Secretary of Education’s response to such measures [in Chinese] is accessible at: http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201606/22/P201606220579.htm.

5. Scholarism was established on 29 May 2011. In addition to the anti-national education movement, it played a major role in the Umbrella Movement as well. Its chair, Joshua Wong, was just 15 years old when Scholarism was formed. Wong received a considerable amount of international media attention, and was named one of Time Magazine’s 25 most influential teens of 2014. Scholarism was dismantled in March 2016; some of its members went on to form the political party Demosisto, while others founded various student organisations.

6. Some 20 groups, including Amnesty International, organised a fun day for children on 1 September in the civic square. Through games, they learned about topics such as human rights and civility.

7. Various surveys found that support for the central government’s decision was generally higher, from 45% to 58%, as opposed to 36% to 41% objecting to it (Civil Society Joint Action, 2015).

8. At the end, Occupy Central was declared on 28 September when student activists, after staging a week-long boycott of classes, suddenly stormed the civic square, which was fended after the Anti-national Education movement.

9. To run for the office of the Chief Executive, a candidate must receive the endorsement of at least half of the members of the nominating committee, whose composition and election methods stay the same as the previous election.

10. For a detailed account of the events during the Umbrella Movement, see HKSARG (2015).

11. Public consultation on the methods of returning legislators and the Chief Executive ended on 4 May 2014, while the second round of consultation began on 7 January 2015. The Report covers events falling in between the two rounds of consultation.

12. It was established in 2013 basically to support the policy of the Chief Executive, C. Y. Leung. It frequently organises rallies to counter pro-democracy activities, and their style is both provocative and belligerent.

13. Lee See-yin is a founder of the three groups. She is a vehement supporter of Chief Executive C. Y. Leung, and often openly criticises people who have a different view. She supported the seven policemen who were convicted for using excessive force to arrest a protestor during the Umbrella Movement. Her style is offensive and aggressive, often using insults and abusive language to provoke opponents.

14. The political party Youngspiration was founded in 2015 and advocates self-determination and anti-sinization. Two of its candidates were elected to the Legislative Council in 2016. However, they now face disqualification because the PRC government rules that they were disrespectful of the sovereign power and people in their swearing-in ceremony.

15. Those who sign the Charter promise to be community conscious citizens who take part in community and public affairs; to agree to the principle of community self-determination and to change the local system; to promote community economy by creating shared resources; to be involved in community politics; and to reform the political system.

16. Yellow is the colour symbolising the Umbrella Movement.

17. Examples of funding for social enterprises include: the Enhancing Self-Reliance through District Partnership Programme by the Home Affairs Department; the Enhancing Employment of People with Disabilities through Small Enterprise by the Social Welfare Department; and the Revitalising Historic Buildings through Partnership Scheme by the Development Bureau.

18. Examples of district locals’ Facebook pages are accessible at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/KwunTongLocals/; https://www.facebook/com/TuenMunLocals/; https://www.facebook/com/ShaTinLocals.

19. One study blames the leniency of the Public Consultation Guidelines that have been in force since 2003 (Hong Kong Policy Research Institute, 2016). The guidelines give discretion to individual bureaus and departments to decide when, how, and whether it is necessary at all to conduct public consultations. It is alleged that even such lax guidelines were not taken seriously by officials (Lam, 2016).

20. The question asked: “If a general election of the Chief Executive were to be held tomorrow, and you had the right to vote, would you vote for Leung Chun-ying?” See HKUPOP (2017).