The Myth of Political Apathy in Hong Kong

While Hong Kong people are often characterized as politically apathetic, closer study indicates that such descriptions need to be reconsidered in light of Hong Kong's particular, and peculiar, history and future. The restraints of proximity to a soon-to-be-sovereign China and its position as a listening post, capitalist enclave, and refuge imposed psychological (internalized) and security-based (external) limits on formal democratic political development. Although there have been, and remain, vigorous structures of Chinese political influence and activity, with Chinese Communist Party and Nationalist China partisans estimated at some 60,000 in the early 1980s, political participation in colonial politics remained limited except for the village-based politics of Heung Yee Kuk. In a process beginning in the early 1970s, however, territorywide political structures were erected that encouraged the grassroots activities that laid a foundation for rapid political development in the 1980s and 1990s

China · Communism · Democracy · Grassroots · Nationalism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Law · Socioeconomic Development in Asia

• Hostile Forces

  Jamie J Gruffydd-Jones•Hostile Forces•2022

  Incluir item

• Gender and everyday evasions

  J N Erni•Inter-Asia Cultural Studies•2007

  Incluir item

• Failure of the semi-authoritarian system

  Open Access•Tayden Fung Chan•Asian Journal of Comparative…•2021

  Incluir item

• Enter the dragon

  Open Access•Richard Baum•Communist and Post-Communist…•1999

  Incluir item

• Informal land registration under unclear property rights

  Open Access•Lawrence W C Lai, Lawrence Wai‐Chung Lai et al.•Land Use Policy•2016

  Incluir item

• Efficacy beliefs, sense of unfairness, and participation in Lulu activism

  Open Access•Ting Liu, Y Yau et al.•Cities•2018

  Incluir item

• Political Orientation and Trust in the Courts

  Man Yee Karen Lee, Yan Lam Lo•Asian Survey•2023

  Incluir item

• From the streets to the ballots

  Open Access•Amalie Nilsen•Democratization•2025

  Incluir item

• Conditional Citizenship

  Michael E Degolyer•Citizenship Studies•2001

  Incluir item

• Beyond Apathy; Community Participation and the Acquisition of Political Skills in Hong Kong

  Janet Lee Scott•Citizenship Studies•2001

  Incluir item

• The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (Paper))

  Richard D Lambert•The Annals of the American…•2001

  Incluir item

• Hong Kong in Chinese History

  Jung-Fang Tsai•Hong Kong in Chinese History•1993

  Incluir item

• The Ethos of the Hong Kong Chinese

  Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao, Hsin‐huang Michael Hsiao et al.•Contemporary Sociology A Journal…•1990

  Incluir item

• Corruption and politics in Hong Kong and China

  Joseph Cheng•International Affairs•1993

  Incluir item

• The Role of Public Opinion in Public Administration

  Open Access•Edith J Barrett•The Annals of the American…•1995

  Incluir item

• The Structure of Communist Party Control in Hong Kong

  John P Burns•Asian Survey•1990

  Incluir item