The Institutional Determinants of the Path to Political Reform in Hong Kong SAR

Abstract

The political economy of political reform in Hong Kong is characterized by the persistent contradictory imperatives and conflicts of ideology between the pro‐democracy camp and the Beijing‐backed Hong Kong government. On December 29, 2007, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China ruled out universal suffrage for both the selection of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong and the election of the legislative councilors before 2016 and stated that the earliest possible dates for the election of the Chief Executive and the legislative councilors would be 2017 and 2020, respectively. This article suggests that the constitutional institutions (formal and informal) that have evolved from Hong Kong's colonial past restrain the sets of choices for its political reform, and that unless the pro‐democracy camp falls in line with Chinese central government's positions, the status quo in the political system will remain for years to come.