Lost Opportunity

Local Councils and Grassroots Democracy Reforms after the Anti-Extradition Movement in Hong Kong

Bibliographic Data

ID4813633
AuthorsNgok Ma (Chinese University of Hong Kong, corresponding author)
Year2023
Pages1-22
Publication date2023-11-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary Asia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2336 • E-ISSN: 1752-7554
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00472336.2023.2280710
OpenAlexW4389049891
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited33

Research on contentious politics tends to overlook the significance of local elections in supporting social movements and democratisation. This article analyses how the pro-democracy opposition in Hong Kong had tried to use the institutional positions and resources of the District Councils, after their landslide victory in 2019, to support the Anti-Extradition Movement and push for grassroots democracy reforms. Through a study of meeting documents and interviews with councillors, this study recapitulates the state–opposition struggle around the grassroots reform initiatives in the District Councils in 2020–2021. Efforts to support the Anti-Extradition Movement, promote grassroots participation, reform public finance, and counter clientelism were short-lived and met with strong state resistance. Institutional constraints, internal struggles, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic severely limited the reform efforts. The study of this reform experience sheds light on the possibilities and limits of using local councils to support reforms and promote grassroots democracy in hybrid regime settings.Key Words: Anti-extradition movementclientelismDistrict Councilsgrassroots democracyHong Kong politicslocal elections AcknowledgementsThe author thanks Judy Chan for her invaluable research assistance.Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 In past movements, massive rallies were usually held on Hong Kong Island, with a designated route starting from Victoria Park to the central business-political centre of Hong Kong.2 Face-to-face interviews were preferred, usually at the offices of the (former) councillors. Online interviews were conducted usually because of two reasons: the interviewee had left Hong Kong or there was a risk of COVID-19 infection.3 This was not the usual practice in the DCs before 2020. As advisory bodies, DCs had been free to discuss territory-wide policies and constitutional reform since the 1980s. The difference is that before 2020, the government was confident that the government position would get majority support in DCs.Additional informationFundingThis project was funded by the General Research Fund of the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong (Projects 14606319 and 14606321

Clientelism · Democracy · Democratization · Grassroots · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Social movement · Sociology · Homelessness and Social Issues · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Internet Traffic Analysis and Secure E-voting · Law · Public Administration

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