The study of patron-client politics is new to the study of Hong Kong political science. This book examines whether patron-client relations are critical to the electoral victory of candidates; how the political elites cultivate support from clients in order to obtain more votes during local elections; and tests the extent to which whether patron-client relations are crucial in order for candidates to obtain more ballots during elections. Covering patron-client politics and public administration in Hong Kong; the electoral dynamics including the Chief Executive elections and the Legislative Council elections; the cooptation of key elites by using patron-client mechanism; the study of the committees and elites who have been politically co-opted; the appointment mechanisms that have played a crucial role in patron-clientelism; and finally the China factor in the entire processes and politics of patron-client politics. Bruce Kwong finds that the better candidates cultivate patron-client relations, the greater their chance of winning the election; and the smaller the size of the electoral constituency, the greater the impact of patron-client relations. Finally, the book stresses the role of Beijing as a powerful patron shaping the Hong Kong Chief Executive and the latter’s clients and analyzes the political implications and long-term consequences of patron-client politics in Hong Kong.

This thesis proves that patron-client relations are indispensable to all levels of Hong Kong's election, including the elections held for the Chief Executive, Legislative Council, District Councils, grassroots level institutions such as MACs, HYK and pro-Beijing district groups. Patron-client relations have varying degree of significances in these four levels of elections. Patron-client network plays a critical role in Chief Executive election. However, patron-client relations tend to assume a lesser importance in Legislative Council's direct elections because of the larger geographical constituencies, although ren-ch'ing and guanxi are still crucial in the candidates' campaign for functional constituencies election. At the grassroots level, clientelism is crucial for political party members to penetrate housing groups, such as MACs and OCs. Due to the fact that the geographical constituencies in District Council elections are smaller than LegCo's direct elections, patron-client politics tends to be a decisive factor shaping candidates' chances of electoral victory at the district level. Though the 2003 District Council elections saw a decline in the impact of patron-client relations, patronage politics still persists in MACs, HYK and pro-Beijing group mobilization of voter registration in the 2004 LegCo's direct elections. In short, patron-client relations are particularly prominent in CE election, LegCo's functional constituency elections and party infiltration into housing organizations at the grassroots level.

This dissertation, "Patron-client Politics in Hong Kong" by Kam-kwan, Kwong, 鄺錦鈞, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. DOI: 10.5353/th_b3124547 Subjects: Patron and client - China - Hong Kong Elections - China - Hong Kong

Examines whether patron-client relations are critical to the electoral victory of candidates; how the political elites cultivate support from clients in order to obtain more votes during local elections; and tests the extent to which whether patron-client relations are crucial in order for candidates to obtain more ballots during elections.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the election of the Hong Kong Legislative Council in May 1998, which was the first general election in Hong Kong since the change of sovereignty to China in 1997. The election was conducted in the wake of the government's mismanagement of health policy and other aspects of public concern and amid widespread hardships inflicted by the Asian financial crisis. Nevertheless, the election still had the highest turnout rate in Hong Kong's entire history. The elected legislature replaced the Provisional Legislative Council, which was a product of the Sino-British conflict before the change-over. However, as a result of institutional design and electoral outcome, this duly-elected Legislative Council has been fragmented and weak in its legislative and supervisory powers; and therefore there are long-term implications for the governance of Hong Kong in general and for the executive-legislative relations in particular. Contributors to this volume are renowned scholars in Hong Kong studies. The various aspects of the 1998 legislative election are critically examined to ascertain their exact meanings and to clarify doubts. Questions such as the following are properly addressed Did the transfer of sovereignty have any impact on the systems of election, representation, and authority? What was the impact of institutional change on the conduct of electoral campaigns? Did the end of colonialism and the advent of "one country, two systems" help to activate Hong Kong voters who were once dubbed "attentive spectators"? Did the "China factor" which had been influential in the 1991 and 1995 elections give way to other electoral divisions?Did the mass media properly perform their roles during the election? Does the emergence of class and economic issues during the election signify a new era of "political normalization"? Will the now legitimately constituted Legislative Council have political clout? What is in store for the future?

Development of democracy is often taken to mean rising political participation in an open society. Containing historical data on political participation in Hong Kong since the colonial days, this book focuses on the discussion of the socio-cultural determinants of political participation in Hong Kong.

This book offers a novel and parsimonious framework to help understand Hong Kong's lengthy democratic transition by analyzing the electoral dynamics of the city's competitive authoritarian political system, where pro-Beijing and pro-democracy parties have struggled to keep each other in check. The author demonstrates how a relatively liberal media environment has shaped the electoral incentives of the opposition and the pro-establishment elite differently, which has helped the latter improve its basis of electoral support. The political explanation the book puts forward seeks to shed new light on why many autocracies are interested in regularly holding elections that are considered somewhat competitive. This book will be of great interest not only to specialists in comparative studies of democratization, but also to all those concerned with Hong Kong's democratic transition.