The Feasibility of Direct Election of the Governor of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the "One Country, Two Systems"

• Main Authors: Ying-ju Wang, 王英儒
• Other Authors: Jian-min Shaw
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2006
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/gc28sb

碩士 === 南華大學 === 亞太研究所 === 95 === 　　During the period of colonization, Hong Kong was deeply influenced by British democratic systems, which nurtured Hong Kong people’s awareness of democratic self-governance. However, since the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, along with Beijing’s implementing the “one country, two systems” in the region, the people of Hong Kong have begun to doubt about such systems, particularly its electoral constraints that by no means meet their demands for “direct election of the governor of Hong Kong” and “governing Hong Kong by the people.” How would Hong Kong government develop a democratic system suitable for Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems”? Whether or not would Hong Kong people be able to realize a direct election of their chief executive? These questions have become the critical issues Hong Kong government must face with, which will not only affect Hong Kong’s democratic development, but also affect possible democratization of China in the future. By adopting “literature review” and “historical research” methods, this thesis integrates pertinent democratization theories and the “one country, two systems” contentions since the return of Hong Kong to China, while examining both Hong Kong’s democratic institutions and the feasibility of direct election of the governor of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the “one country, two systems.” It finds that, ever since the implementation of the “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong, it has, to a great extent, limited the democratic development in Hong Kong despite the Basic Law’s provision that has opened a partial popular voting of one-third of the councilmen in the Hong Kong Legislature. In other words, democratic parliamentary system has not been fully or effectively established in Hong Kong. Given the fact that China’s internal political context, the constant democratic voices inside the CCP, and the weakened central government control of the local may impact China’s leadership power and the nation’s reunification, Beijing authority has been concerned about such factors and will thus make an effort to block full-scale democratization of Hong Kong to prevent it from spreading into the Mainland and impairing the regime’s power. It is concluded that the development of democratic systems in Hong Kong, especially the appeal for direct election of the governor by Hong Kong people, has encountered complication, uncertainty and a long, difficult way to actualize.