Raymond Hau-Yin YUEN | University of London (original) (raw)
Book Chapters by Raymond Hau-Yin YUEN
Handbook on Asian Public Administration, 2022
As a former British Colony, Hong Kong was once seen as a pure form of ‘administrative state’, wit... more As a former British Colony, Hong Kong was once seen as a pure form of ‘administrative state’, with executive power being monopolized in the bureaucracy. However, ‘quasi-autonomous’ agencies, with statutory power, a long historical pedigree and deep-rooted embeddedness into the governing system, have been established extensively. For the past two decades, while the civil service shrunk, the public sector has been growing and developing continuously in the form of quasi-autonomous agencies in key policy areas. As a result, the post-colonial administrative state has been ‘hollowed-out’, with functions, authority and resources delegated to an array of ‘arm’s length’ agencies. In the light of global experiences and local practices, this chapter examines the trend of ‘agencification’ in Hong Kong by analyzing the origin, dynamics and consequences of ‘quasi-autonomous’ agencies under the changing governance context in the colonial and post-1997 eras.
Civil Service Systems in East and Southeast Asia, 2023
Hong Kong was formerly a British Colony and the city has become a Special Autonomous Region of C... more Hong Kong was formerly a British Colony and the city has become a Special Autonomous Region of China after the transfer of sovereignty in 1997 under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework, supposedly enjoying high autonomy under the Basic Law, which is its mini-constitution. The politico-administrative regime of Hong Kong has been founded, developed and inherited from its colonial history under the British administration. Hong Kong government has been described by Lau (1982) as a ‘de facto independent and self-governing state’. However, in the last two decades after the transfer of its sovereignty, many core features of the administrative state including its civil service system have been challenged by market-based reforms and the new constitutional and political order under the increasing influence of China.
Evaluation of the C.Y Leung Administration, 2020
Although the declining role of the civil service as a governing institution is an inevitable tren... more Although the declining role of the civil service as a governing institution is an inevitable trend after the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong to China, one of the most significant features of the Administration of the Chief Executive C. Y. Leung in his policy and management over the civil service is the politicization of the civil service. The problem of politicization is most serious and observable in the disciplinary forces, particularly the police, and its handling of the Umbrella Movement of 2014, the largest political protest in the history of Hong Kong, is one of the most remarkable events underlining this problem. Politicization of the civil service of Hong Kong represents a fundamental change and a major threat to the role of the civil service because it means the civil service has deviated from a highest efficient and effective force of neutral competency to a convenient political tool at the disposal of the political leaders.
Contemporary Hong Kong Government and Politics (Expanded Second Edition), May 2012
A central theme in Wilson Wong and Raymond Yuen’s chapter is that economic policy is shaped by mo... more A central theme in Wilson Wong and Raymond Yuen’s chapter is that economic policy is shaped by more than economic forces. The image of a “market economy” constructed by the HKSAR government is found more like a myth than the reality as political considerations often override economic logic in shaping economic policy. The making of economic policy in Hong Kong is often biased towards the benefit of the more privileged groups. The best example of how power distribution shapes resource allocation is its fiscal system under which the politically powerful are often taxed less but benefit more. The political system dominated by the rich and powerful also deprives the government of sufficient state capacity and state autonomy for carrying out effective industrial policies to transform and restructure the economy.
Refereed Journal Articles by Raymond Hau-Yin YUEN
The formation of Hong Kong citizenship was under tensions and struggles after the change of sover... more The formation of Hong Kong citizenship was under tensions and struggles after the change of sovereignty in 1997. In spite of the limited political and social rights,
many incidents showed that the promised civil rights were declining. More importantly, subject to the intensified transborder population mobility of Chinese citizens, there were public discourses addressing that the social rights of Hong Kong citizens were threatened. Protests in response to the intensified transborder population mobility were found, with the rightist public discourses advocating to conserve the essences of Hong Kong citizenship. Being the neoliberal exception of China, Hong Kong is positioned to contribute for China by its market economy, as well as the relatively well-established socio-economic institution. However, as this article argues, in spite of the logic of exception, i.e. the zoning technology that the state deploys, the intensified transborder population mobility and economic activities between the neoliberal exception and the sovereign state can lead to the struggles and contentions concerning the citizenship of the former.
Asia Pacific Law Review, 2009
The concept of the ombudsman has been adopted in a wide variety of political contexts and constit... more The concept of the ombudsman has been adopted in a wide variety of political contexts and constitutional arrangements, therefore discussions on the role and effectiveness of an ombudsman cannot be detached from the specific context of governance. The Ombudsman was introduced in Hong Kong in 1989 with the aim of promoting a fair, open and effective government. By redressing administrative grievances, it has emerged as an essential and effective mechanism for defending administrative justice in the ‘executive-led’ and soft-authoritarian administrative state. With the changing governance context in the post-1997 era, the role of the Ombudsman has been strengthened rather than weakened. This article examines the major forces driving the transformation of governance in Hong Kong in the post-1997 era in their political, administrative and socioeconomic contexts to discuss how they impact on the Ombudsman in its role of advancing the quality of governance in Hong Kong.
Invited Guest Presentations by Raymond Hau-Yin YUEN
This paper examines the approaches and strategies adopted by the Hong Kong Special Administrative... more This paper examines the approaches and strategies adopted by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government in handling major financial crises since its establishment and evaluates its effectiveness and outcomes. From 1997 onwards, Hong Kong has been hit by two major financial crises, one in 1998 and the other one in 2008. These two crises provide the major cases for investigation in the paper. It was observed that there had been limited success in the previous HKSAR Government efforts in coupling with financial crises. Hong Kong’ economy did not recover any faster than other comparable economies. Instead of being rescued by the policies of the HKSAR Government, Hong Kong’s economy was often more effectively stimulated by the policy intervention of the Central Government or simply the natural upturn of the business cycle and the improvement of the external economic environment. Still, no effective measure had been taken to restructure Hong Kong’s economy to make it more sustainable and less vulnerable to future financial crises.
The reasons for its limited success are much deeper and broader than the limitations on generic government ability in regulating the state of the economy and also related to problems embedded in the HKSAR Government’s governing structure and strategies. Structurally, there is decay in the competency and autonomy of the governing elite. For the administrative service, the top civil service in the administrative state of Hong Kong, following the colonial governing tradition, they are groomed more into generalists who are poorly equipped to tackle technical policy problems. The political development and civil service reforms implemented since 1997, including both the huge business influence in the election of the Chief Executive and the imposing of a layer of political appointment on the top of its governing structure under the accountability system, emphasize more on tightening political control and rewarding political supporters, rather than upgrading governing capability and policy responsiveness. The introduction of political appointment also leads to more problems of government-business collision and less strict business regulations, which is exactly one of the factors leading to the latest financial crisis. A second major reason for the disappointing performance in handling financial crisis is that, with the changing composition and nature of the administrative state in Hong Kong, it frames many public problems, including its economic problem, more often as political problems. Moreover, instead of addressing it through structural reforms and further democratization, as reflected by its active cooptation of the mass media into its governing coalition, it emphasizes more on “spinning” or public relations strategies, which do not seem to offer any long-term and real solution to its economic problem. As the latest financial crisis is still going on at the time of the writing, we would conclude the paper with recommendations for tackling the latest crisis.
The aim of the proposed study is to examine the creation of quasi-governmental agencies (QGAs) in... more The aim of the proposed study is to examine the creation of quasi-governmental agencies (QGAs) in Hong Kong and its implications towards public governance. QGAs has been extensively used in Hong Kong with a long historical pedigree and deeply embedded into the governing system. With the functions, authority and resources are transferred from the core-executive to an array of ‘arm’s length’ QGAs, the post-colonial
administrative state has been furthermore ‘hollowed-out’. It brings out tremendous challenges to the quality of public governance and government officials have to re-build the capacity to govern in facing the increased fragmentation of public sector. In literary, the use of QGAs is advocated by the movement of New Public Management (NPM) for enhancing efficiency. Yet, to what extent this promise can be attained is doubtful as there is no spontaneous link between the creation of QGAs and their performance. Such proliferation of QGAs usually reflects political considerations and functional needs of government; or merely the policy lessons transferred from foreign practices and past experiences. Being a developmental state with a strong corporatist tradition and an administrative state with an executive-led government which is still under democratization, Hong Kong is a distinctive case that requires a systematic exploration on why government continuously adopts
QGAs as an administrative apparatus for managing public services rather than relying on the traditional bureaucratic structure. The proposed study is going to capture the role and functions of QGAs in the complex system of public governance in Hong Kong.
Presentation Outline: 1. Governance Structure in Hong Kong - What are the key attributes of Gover... more Presentation Outline:
1. Governance Structure in Hong Kong - What are the key attributes of Governance in Hong Kong?
2. The ‘Hollowing-out’ of the State - In what ways and to what extent the modern state is eroded?
3. Hong Kong Experiences - Is the Hong Kong SAR Hollowed-out?
4. Evaluating the Problems of Governance - From the Perspectives of Legitimacy, Autonomy and Capacity
5. Conclusion and Discussion - Transforming the Government in the Era of Governance
Research Manuscripts by Raymond Hau-Yin YUEN
"「摘 要」 在1998年發生亞洲金融危機後, 香港經濟復甦速度緩慢, 特區政府並未採取有效措施應付金融危機帶來的經濟衝擊, 也未能調整相關政策及對經濟結構及公共財政進行適當的改革; 十年後的2... more "「摘 要」 在1998年發生亞洲金融危機後, 香港經濟復甦速度緩慢, 特區政府並未採取有效措施應付金融危機帶來的經濟衝擊, 也未能調整相關政策及對經濟結構及公共財政進行適當的改革; 十年後的2008年, 香港再一次面對一場規模更大, 影響範圍更廣的全球性金融危機, 同樣問題再度逐步浮現。本文以政治經濟學的角度剖析香港經濟問題背後牽涉的政治因素; 從「政策自主性」、「利益匯合」及「政策制訂」三個方面剖析經濟治理的制度性政治侷限, 指出回歸後「行政主導」的政治體制仍導致特區政府無法有效應對金融危機及推動經濟轉型的主要原因。政治與經濟的關係密不可分, 兩者關係不協調的問題在兩次金融危機下表露無遺; 政制改革及進一步的民主化是協助香港擺脫經濟困境的根本方法。(306字)
「關鍵詞」 全球化 金融危機 香港政府 行政主導 政治制度 經濟治理 應對策略 政治經濟學"
The current study seeks to understand the unforeseen consequences of agencification in the Hong K... more The current study seeks to understand the unforeseen consequences of agencification in the Hong Kong health sector by an explorative and evaluative inquiry of its handling of 2003 SARS epidemic. Qualitative approach is adopted and a case study is conducted on the basis of a multiple source of documentary evidences liked SARS inquiry reports, official instructions, relevant news and archive records. The results obtained are discussed in the light of supporting literatures. The findings undercover the loss of capacity in the health sector originated from the Hospital Authority, a specialized, business-liked statutory entity; the quasi-autonomous agency brings out problems on management of public hospitals as well as control and coordination within healthcare system during the SARS period. It reveals that the effectiveness of the handling of SARS epidemic cannot be completely understood without addressing the underlying issues of institutions.
The aim of the proposed study is to examine the creation of quasi-governmental agencies (QGAs) in... more The aim of the proposed study is to examine the creation of quasi-governmental agencies (QGAs) in Hong Kong and its implications towards public governance. QGAs has been extensively used in Hong Kong with a long historical pedigree and deeply embedded into the governing system. With the functions, authority and resources are transferred from the core-executive to an array of ‘arm’s length’ QGAs, the post-colonial administrative state has been furthermore ‘hollowed-out’. It brings out tremendous challenges to the quality of public governance and government officials have to re-build the capacity to govern in facing the increased fragmentation of public sector. In literary, the use of QGAs is advocated by the movement of New Public Management (NPM) for enhancing efficiency. Yet, to what extent this promise can be attained is doubtful as there is no spontaneous link between the creation of QGAs and their performance. Such proliferation of QGAs usually reflects political considerations and functional needs of government; or merely the policy lessons transferred from foreign practices and past experiences. Being a developmental state with a strong corporatist tradition and an administrative state with an executive-led government which is still under democratization, Hong Kong is a distinctive case that requires a systematic exploration on why government continuously adopts QGAs as an administrative apparatus for managing public services rather than relying on the traditional bureaucratic structure. The proposed study is going to capture the role and functions of QGAs in the complex system of public governance in Hong Kong.
Commissioned Projects by Raymond Hau-Yin YUEN
Research Project commissioned by the Roundtable Community, Hong Kong, 2015
香港區議會社會創新指標研究計劃 Roundtable Community將於本年度進行一項「香港區議會社會創新指標研究計劃」(下稱︰計劃)，以探討「創新意念」在地區實踐的現況，旨在了解本港... more 香港區議會社會創新指標研究計劃
Roundtable Community將於本年度進行一項「香港區議會社會創新指標研究計劃」(下稱︰計劃)，以探討「創新意念」在地區實踐的現況，旨在了解本港區議員如何運用創新意念，在地區層面為居民、街坊解決問題。所謂「社會創新」，簡單而言，是主張由下而上，吸納民間各方的意念，在既有的成規或慣常做法以外，提倡或實踐創新的做事方式，如探索備受忽視的社區問題、籌辦與別不同的地區活動、地區建設等等，以改善社區生活。「社會創新」的概念，在國外已經研究多年，有相當完備的討論，證實了對提升社區生活質素，有莫大幫助。本計劃將透過問卷調查以了解本港區議員如何運用創新意念，在地區層面為居民、街坊解決問題。本問卷調查是香港首個關於「社會創新」與地區行政的量化研究，計劃涵蓋全港五百位區議員，調查結果將有助本會向政府倡議、促進、加強區議員服務職能，惠及社區。
Conference Papers by Raymond Hau-Yin YUEN
Handbook on Asian Public Administration, 2022
As a former British Colony, Hong Kong was once seen as a pure form of ‘administrative state’, wit... more As a former British Colony, Hong Kong was once seen as a pure form of ‘administrative state’, with executive power being monopolized in the bureaucracy. However, ‘quasi-autonomous’ agencies, with statutory power, a long historical pedigree and deep-rooted embeddedness into the governing system, have been established extensively. For the past two decades, while the civil service shrunk, the public sector has been growing and developing continuously in the form of quasi-autonomous agencies in key policy areas. As a result, the post-colonial administrative state has been ‘hollowed-out’, with functions, authority and resources delegated to an array of ‘arm’s length’ agencies. In the light of global experiences and local practices, this chapter examines the trend of ‘agencification’ in Hong Kong by analyzing the origin, dynamics and consequences of ‘quasi-autonomous’ agencies under the changing governance context in the colonial and post-1997 eras.
Civil Service Systems in East and Southeast Asia, 2023
Hong Kong was formerly a British Colony and the city has become a Special Autonomous Region of C... more Hong Kong was formerly a British Colony and the city has become a Special Autonomous Region of China after the transfer of sovereignty in 1997 under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework, supposedly enjoying high autonomy under the Basic Law, which is its mini-constitution. The politico-administrative regime of Hong Kong has been founded, developed and inherited from its colonial history under the British administration. Hong Kong government has been described by Lau (1982) as a ‘de facto independent and self-governing state’. However, in the last two decades after the transfer of its sovereignty, many core features of the administrative state including its civil service system have been challenged by market-based reforms and the new constitutional and political order under the increasing influence of China.
Evaluation of the C.Y Leung Administration, 2020
Although the declining role of the civil service as a governing institution is an inevitable tren... more Although the declining role of the civil service as a governing institution is an inevitable trend after the transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong to China, one of the most significant features of the Administration of the Chief Executive C. Y. Leung in his policy and management over the civil service is the politicization of the civil service. The problem of politicization is most serious and observable in the disciplinary forces, particularly the police, and its handling of the Umbrella Movement of 2014, the largest political protest in the history of Hong Kong, is one of the most remarkable events underlining this problem. Politicization of the civil service of Hong Kong represents a fundamental change and a major threat to the role of the civil service because it means the civil service has deviated from a highest efficient and effective force of neutral competency to a convenient political tool at the disposal of the political leaders.
Contemporary Hong Kong Government and Politics (Expanded Second Edition), May 2012
A central theme in Wilson Wong and Raymond Yuen’s chapter is that economic policy is shaped by mo... more A central theme in Wilson Wong and Raymond Yuen’s chapter is that economic policy is shaped by more than economic forces. The image of a “market economy” constructed by the HKSAR government is found more like a myth than the reality as political considerations often override economic logic in shaping economic policy. The making of economic policy in Hong Kong is often biased towards the benefit of the more privileged groups. The best example of how power distribution shapes resource allocation is its fiscal system under which the politically powerful are often taxed less but benefit more. The political system dominated by the rich and powerful also deprives the government of sufficient state capacity and state autonomy for carrying out effective industrial policies to transform and restructure the economy.
The formation of Hong Kong citizenship was under tensions and struggles after the change of sover... more The formation of Hong Kong citizenship was under tensions and struggles after the change of sovereignty in 1997. In spite of the limited political and social rights,
many incidents showed that the promised civil rights were declining. More importantly, subject to the intensified transborder population mobility of Chinese citizens, there were public discourses addressing that the social rights of Hong Kong citizens were threatened. Protests in response to the intensified transborder population mobility were found, with the rightist public discourses advocating to conserve the essences of Hong Kong citizenship. Being the neoliberal exception of China, Hong Kong is positioned to contribute for China by its market economy, as well as the relatively well-established socio-economic institution. However, as this article argues, in spite of the logic of exception, i.e. the zoning technology that the state deploys, the intensified transborder population mobility and economic activities between the neoliberal exception and the sovereign state can lead to the struggles and contentions concerning the citizenship of the former.
Asia Pacific Law Review, 2009
The concept of the ombudsman has been adopted in a wide variety of political contexts and constit... more The concept of the ombudsman has been adopted in a wide variety of political contexts and constitutional arrangements, therefore discussions on the role and effectiveness of an ombudsman cannot be detached from the specific context of governance. The Ombudsman was introduced in Hong Kong in 1989 with the aim of promoting a fair, open and effective government. By redressing administrative grievances, it has emerged as an essential and effective mechanism for defending administrative justice in the ‘executive-led’ and soft-authoritarian administrative state. With the changing governance context in the post-1997 era, the role of the Ombudsman has been strengthened rather than weakened. This article examines the major forces driving the transformation of governance in Hong Kong in the post-1997 era in their political, administrative and socioeconomic contexts to discuss how they impact on the Ombudsman in its role of advancing the quality of governance in Hong Kong.
This paper examines the approaches and strategies adopted by the Hong Kong Special Administrative... more This paper examines the approaches and strategies adopted by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government in handling major financial crises since its establishment and evaluates its effectiveness and outcomes. From 1997 onwards, Hong Kong has been hit by two major financial crises, one in 1998 and the other one in 2008. These two crises provide the major cases for investigation in the paper. It was observed that there had been limited success in the previous HKSAR Government efforts in coupling with financial crises. Hong Kong’ economy did not recover any faster than other comparable economies. Instead of being rescued by the policies of the HKSAR Government, Hong Kong’s economy was often more effectively stimulated by the policy intervention of the Central Government or simply the natural upturn of the business cycle and the improvement of the external economic environment. Still, no effective measure had been taken to restructure Hong Kong’s economy to make it more sustainable and less vulnerable to future financial crises.
The reasons for its limited success are much deeper and broader than the limitations on generic government ability in regulating the state of the economy and also related to problems embedded in the HKSAR Government’s governing structure and strategies. Structurally, there is decay in the competency and autonomy of the governing elite. For the administrative service, the top civil service in the administrative state of Hong Kong, following the colonial governing tradition, they are groomed more into generalists who are poorly equipped to tackle technical policy problems. The political development and civil service reforms implemented since 1997, including both the huge business influence in the election of the Chief Executive and the imposing of a layer of political appointment on the top of its governing structure under the accountability system, emphasize more on tightening political control and rewarding political supporters, rather than upgrading governing capability and policy responsiveness. The introduction of political appointment also leads to more problems of government-business collision and less strict business regulations, which is exactly one of the factors leading to the latest financial crisis. A second major reason for the disappointing performance in handling financial crisis is that, with the changing composition and nature of the administrative state in Hong Kong, it frames many public problems, including its economic problem, more often as political problems. Moreover, instead of addressing it through structural reforms and further democratization, as reflected by its active cooptation of the mass media into its governing coalition, it emphasizes more on “spinning” or public relations strategies, which do not seem to offer any long-term and real solution to its economic problem. As the latest financial crisis is still going on at the time of the writing, we would conclude the paper with recommendations for tackling the latest crisis.
The aim of the proposed study is to examine the creation of quasi-governmental agencies (QGAs) in... more The aim of the proposed study is to examine the creation of quasi-governmental agencies (QGAs) in Hong Kong and its implications towards public governance. QGAs has been extensively used in Hong Kong with a long historical pedigree and deeply embedded into the governing system. With the functions, authority and resources are transferred from the core-executive to an array of ‘arm’s length’ QGAs, the post-colonial
administrative state has been furthermore ‘hollowed-out’. It brings out tremendous challenges to the quality of public governance and government officials have to re-build the capacity to govern in facing the increased fragmentation of public sector. In literary, the use of QGAs is advocated by the movement of New Public Management (NPM) for enhancing efficiency. Yet, to what extent this promise can be attained is doubtful as there is no spontaneous link between the creation of QGAs and their performance. Such proliferation of QGAs usually reflects political considerations and functional needs of government; or merely the policy lessons transferred from foreign practices and past experiences. Being a developmental state with a strong corporatist tradition and an administrative state with an executive-led government which is still under democratization, Hong Kong is a distinctive case that requires a systematic exploration on why government continuously adopts
QGAs as an administrative apparatus for managing public services rather than relying on the traditional bureaucratic structure. The proposed study is going to capture the role and functions of QGAs in the complex system of public governance in Hong Kong.
Presentation Outline: 1. Governance Structure in Hong Kong - What are the key attributes of Gover... more Presentation Outline:
1. Governance Structure in Hong Kong - What are the key attributes of Governance in Hong Kong?
2. The ‘Hollowing-out’ of the State - In what ways and to what extent the modern state is eroded?
3. Hong Kong Experiences - Is the Hong Kong SAR Hollowed-out?
4. Evaluating the Problems of Governance - From the Perspectives of Legitimacy, Autonomy and Capacity
5. Conclusion and Discussion - Transforming the Government in the Era of Governance
"「摘 要」 在1998年發生亞洲金融危機後, 香港經濟復甦速度緩慢, 特區政府並未採取有效措施應付金融危機帶來的經濟衝擊, 也未能調整相關政策及對經濟結構及公共財政進行適當的改革; 十年後的2... more "「摘 要」 在1998年發生亞洲金融危機後, 香港經濟復甦速度緩慢, 特區政府並未採取有效措施應付金融危機帶來的經濟衝擊, 也未能調整相關政策及對經濟結構及公共財政進行適當的改革; 十年後的2008年, 香港再一次面對一場規模更大, 影響範圍更廣的全球性金融危機, 同樣問題再度逐步浮現。本文以政治經濟學的角度剖析香港經濟問題背後牽涉的政治因素; 從「政策自主性」、「利益匯合」及「政策制訂」三個方面剖析經濟治理的制度性政治侷限, 指出回歸後「行政主導」的政治體制仍導致特區政府無法有效應對金融危機及推動經濟轉型的主要原因。政治與經濟的關係密不可分, 兩者關係不協調的問題在兩次金融危機下表露無遺; 政制改革及進一步的民主化是協助香港擺脫經濟困境的根本方法。(306字)
「關鍵詞」 全球化 金融危機 香港政府 行政主導 政治制度 經濟治理 應對策略 政治經濟學"
The current study seeks to understand the unforeseen consequences of agencification in the Hong K... more The current study seeks to understand the unforeseen consequences of agencification in the Hong Kong health sector by an explorative and evaluative inquiry of its handling of 2003 SARS epidemic. Qualitative approach is adopted and a case study is conducted on the basis of a multiple source of documentary evidences liked SARS inquiry reports, official instructions, relevant news and archive records. The results obtained are discussed in the light of supporting literatures. The findings undercover the loss of capacity in the health sector originated from the Hospital Authority, a specialized, business-liked statutory entity; the quasi-autonomous agency brings out problems on management of public hospitals as well as control and coordination within healthcare system during the SARS period. It reveals that the effectiveness of the handling of SARS epidemic cannot be completely understood without addressing the underlying issues of institutions.
The aim of the proposed study is to examine the creation of quasi-governmental agencies (QGAs) in... more The aim of the proposed study is to examine the creation of quasi-governmental agencies (QGAs) in Hong Kong and its implications towards public governance. QGAs has been extensively used in Hong Kong with a long historical pedigree and deeply embedded into the governing system. With the functions, authority and resources are transferred from the core-executive to an array of ‘arm’s length’ QGAs, the post-colonial administrative state has been furthermore ‘hollowed-out’. It brings out tremendous challenges to the quality of public governance and government officials have to re-build the capacity to govern in facing the increased fragmentation of public sector. In literary, the use of QGAs is advocated by the movement of New Public Management (NPM) for enhancing efficiency. Yet, to what extent this promise can be attained is doubtful as there is no spontaneous link between the creation of QGAs and their performance. Such proliferation of QGAs usually reflects political considerations and functional needs of government; or merely the policy lessons transferred from foreign practices and past experiences. Being a developmental state with a strong corporatist tradition and an administrative state with an executive-led government which is still under democratization, Hong Kong is a distinctive case that requires a systematic exploration on why government continuously adopts QGAs as an administrative apparatus for managing public services rather than relying on the traditional bureaucratic structure. The proposed study is going to capture the role and functions of QGAs in the complex system of public governance in Hong Kong.
Research Project commissioned by the Roundtable Community, Hong Kong, 2015
香港區議會社會創新指標研究計劃 Roundtable Community將於本年度進行一項「香港區議會社會創新指標研究計劃」(下稱︰計劃)，以探討「創新意念」在地區實踐的現況，旨在了解本港... more 香港區議會社會創新指標研究計劃
Roundtable Community將於本年度進行一項「香港區議會社會創新指標研究計劃」(下稱︰計劃)，以探討「創新意念」在地區實踐的現況，旨在了解本港區議員如何運用創新意念，在地區層面為居民、街坊解決問題。所謂「社會創新」，簡單而言，是主張由下而上，吸納民間各方的意念，在既有的成規或慣常做法以外，提倡或實踐創新的做事方式，如探索備受忽視的社區問題、籌辦與別不同的地區活動、地區建設等等，以改善社區生活。「社會創新」的概念，在國外已經研究多年，有相當完備的討論，證實了對提升社區生活質素，有莫大幫助。本計劃將透過問卷調查以了解本港區議員如何運用創新意念，在地區層面為居民、街坊解決問題。本問卷調查是香港首個關於「社會創新」與地區行政的量化研究，計劃涵蓋全港五百位區議員，調查結果將有助本會向政府倡議、促進、加強區議員服務職能，惠及社區。