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China and the Selection of Hong Kong's Post-Colonial Political Elite

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2009

Leo F. Goodstadt
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Extract

In preparing for the resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong, the Chinese government had to decide which individuals and groups would occupy the commanding heights of the post-colonial political landscape. During the colonial era, the British had sought to enhance their legitimacy in the absence of democracy through endorsement from representatives of the “business elite” (the families which owned the leading banking, commercial, industrial and real estate enterprises, together with the senior executives of major public companies and leading professionals). In return, this elite and its proxies were granted a privileged role in policy and law-making throughout most of British rule. Chinese officials responsible for managing the transition from British to Chinese rule proved equally eager to have this group's support, and well before 1997 China had replaced “the colonial bureaucracy as the political partner of the bourgeoisie” and was recruiting a majority of its new political establishment from the business elite.

Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 163 , September 2000 , pp. 721 - 741
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 2000

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References

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