Abstract
The 2017 Chief Executive election in Hong Kong demonstrated the severity of factional politics in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, where the pro-democracy faction has been struggling for power against the pro-Beijing camp. It also showed Mainland China’s emphasis on the centralist aspect of the principle of democratic centralism in which the Hong Kong Chief Executive was elected by a relatively small group of elites, most of whom were under the influence of Beijing. The Chinese-style of democracy was reflected in the desire of Mainland officials and the pro-Beijing press to ensure the easy victory of Carrie Lam, who was the only candidate from the pro-Beijing faction. The efforts of Beijing and its agents to secure Lam’s victory pervaded the pre-nomination, nomination, campaign and election, and post-election stages of the electoral process. The process highlighted the uneasiness of China in possibly having to deal with an uncertain outcome of a limitedly pluralistic electoral experience.