The introduction of the "mainland frame" in public policy: a case study on framing and political rhetoric in Hong Kongs climate policy

Abstract

Political integration between the Special Administrative Region and mainland China escalated drastically in the aftermath of the 2019 anti-extradition bill movement. In addition to the National Security Law, there has also been profound changes of the Hong Kong government in terms of its political discourse and political rhetoric despite the bureaucratic structure remaining largely the same after the watershed in 2019. A new “mainland frame”, which repeatedly emphasizes the relationship with mainland China, and Hong Kong’s aspiration to integrate into the national development and highlights the proximity between Hong Kong and mainland China, have been adopted since 2019. This chapter studies the increasing Chinese influence on Hong Kong’s social and public policy by closely comparing two government documents in climate policy, i.e. the Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2035+ and the Hong Kong Climate Action Plan 2050, which were published by the Environment Bureau in 2017 and 2021 respectively.