The First Ten Years of the HKSAR: Civil Society Comes of Age

Elaine Chan and Joseph Chan

Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, 2007, vol. 29, issue 1, 77-99

Abstract: Civil society in Hong Kong has gone through an important period of maturity in the ten years since the handover, with 2003 being a watershed. Around 2003, civil society assumed a separate identity, and from that point on it has been active in various aspects on the policy-making scene. This article discusses how civil society has articulated itself: its identity, roles, agenda and agency. Civil society's self-articulation of its identity and roles reveals three discourses: civil society as a defender of its own autonomy, civil society as the third sector, and civil society as a partner in governance. While the first and third discourses are popular among civil society actors, the second discourse is used more by the government. There is also a shift in the emphasis: from the self-defense discourse surrounding opposition of the public security bill to the governance partnership discourse relating to an expanded agenda of civil society on environmental, history, culture and heritage issues. The expanded agenda signals a greater diversification of values. In addition to the monolithic capitalist value system, there are now some post-materialist values that stress a sense of belonging, self-expression and quality of life. Civil society's sense of agency has grown over the years, and it is now acting with increasing confidence in advocacy.

Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1080/23276665.2007.10779329

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