Globalization and Reunification: Administrative Reforms and the China–Hong Kong Convergence Challenge

• Author: Ahmed Shafiqul Huque,Ray Yep
• Published date: 01 March 2003
• Date: 01 March 2003
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1540-6210.00275

Globalization and Reunification 141

Ahmed Shafiqul Huque

Ray Yep

City University of Hong Kong

Globalization and Reunification:

Administrative Reforms and the China–

Hong Kong Convergence Challenge

When Hong Kong reintegrated with China in 1997, one critical issue was whether the flourishing

center of economic activity with an efficient administrative framework would lose its advantages

and become just another city of the People’s Republic of China. This article examines the process

of managing transition as socialist China tries to accommodate capitalist Hong Kong. With strong

forces of globalization at play, both units have had to embark on administrative reforms to make

their systems compatible with the demands of the new circumstances. An overview of the reforms

they have undertaken reveals that convergence is possible despite markedly different points of

departure. However, while the forces of globalization press for increased convergence, the forces

of institutional arrangements and history present a major challenge. The balance of the push and

pull of convergent and divergent forces will determine the direction and outcome of administrative

reforms in China and Hong Kong.

Part I

“One Country, Two Systems”: Dynamics of

Transition in China and Hong Kong

On July 1,1997, the world watched with great anticipation and curiosity as China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong.

Before, during, and after the British transferred power, many wondered if socialist China could accommodate capitalist Hong

Kong and its efficient administrative system. The idea of “one country, two systems” is intriguing in theory but how well does it

work in practice? Given China’s emerging importance as a political and economic power, the editors asked several leading

scholars from the Department of Public and Social Administration, the City University of Hong Kong, to share their views on the

dynamics of transition in China and Hong Kong. The City University of Hong Kong has the largest concentration of scholars (30

full-time faculty) working in public administration and related disciplines in the territory. The article below by Ahmed Shafiqul

Huque and Ray Yep is the first in a three part series. Huque and Yep analyze the political dimensions of the transition that both

societies are undergoing. In Part II of the series (May/June issue), Ian Holliday and Linda Wong examine the changing nature of

social policy in both China and Hong Kong. The third and final article (July/August issue) is authored by Syracuse University

graduate Hon Chan. Chan seeks to answer the following question: To what extent, and for how long after 1997, can China and

Hong Kong’s two civil service systems coexist? The editors believe that PAR readers will find this series both informative and

thought provoking.

—LDT

Ahmed Shafiqul Huque teaches public administration at the City University

of Hong Kong. Email: sahuque@cityu.edu.hk.

Ray Yep teaches politics at the City University of Hong Kong

.

His latest pub-

lications include

Management Empowerment in China

(RoutledgeCurzon,

2003). Email: sarkyep@cityu.edu.hk.