Meeting Challenges in Policy Making and Public
Engagement
C.K. Law11/11/2010
Challenges
Due to Changes in our society Our political and constitutional structureDealing with such challenges
易Changes in our society
Individualism Consumerism Media influence Globalization Information society Civic Society development Growing diversity
IndividualismJimmy Carter, We are of course a nation of differences. Those
differences don’t make us weak. They’re the source of our strength.
Yes, differences make us stronger (part of Darwinism)No, struggles and internal fights can be immobilizing
and disabling
Individualism Closely associated with liberalism,
pluralism, existentialism, humanism, and laissez-faire governance
A catalyst of diversity Growing mistrust of politics and
political rhetoric from the centre of politics.
Evolving ConsumerismAbstract
consumption Identity Emotional
Abstract Consumption
Some LegCo members’ verbal assault on government officials meeting the need of ventilation towards grievance towards the government
Obama’s open and repeated accusation of top executives of financial institutions in Walls Street meeting the need of expressing anger among Americans
Emotive Consumption
Example: buying a home
SmallerOlderFar from city
BiggerNewerNear the city
Consumerism and Political Communications
Are people irrational? It is only rational in politics and policy
making, if we take into consideration both the rationality and irrationality of human nature, particularly the “wishes” and “expectations” of the people
Media influence
Take the followings as facts of life No news is good news Focus on sensation and emotive issues Information highly selective – “for the sake
of the readers” Spontaneous response instead of learned
response – can be misinformed and misleading.
Globalization and open society
Individuals in each society are opened to all different influences in cultures, values, and practices from the rest of the world
The more open the society (system) is, the more differentiated the individuals (elements) would be (General Systems Theory, 2nd law of Thermodynamics)
Information society
Empowerment– More access to information– Easier to networking people
Reinforcing individualism Subject to more influences and hence changes
in values, beliefs and practices more easily and quickly
Civic Society Development
Part of an international trend – CSOs’ presence in all international submits
CSOs getting more and more autonomous, smaller, larger in numbers, and
More dynamic (coalitions on issue base)
Growing diversity in values, views and behaviors
Due to Expanding individualism Hyper-pluralism Globalization and open society Information society
Growing diversity causing More conflicts (particular in case when
stakes are high, etc. urban redevelopment, XRL)
Lack of majority view, let alone consensus (e.g. health care financing, tax reform, urban renewal)
Issues of political and government structure
Bureaucracy Development of political culture Election system and political constitution of
the LegCo Relationship between LegCo and the
Administration One country two systems Civil servants and political appointees
Bureaucracy
Good in specialized, repetitive and routine tasks
Not equip with dealing with changing values (e.g. heritage preservation)
Poor in coordination and dealing with complex issues
departments tend to interpret departmental roles and responsibilities narrowly (Ombudsman, 2010)
Development of political culture
Political participation increasing since political reforms started in the 1980s
Increasing demand for accountability, transparencies, fairness, and integrity
Increasing demand for rights and benefits Increasingly overriding local interest
Political composition in LegCo
Fragmentation: In the 2008 election, no political party can gain more than 17% of the seats with all political parties holding no more than half the seats.
Representation: The issue of functional constituencies
LegCo
Limited power – limited responsibility Monitoring becomes Criticizing Political compromises are absent – Stand
firm is a “virtue” – Changing stance (轉軚 ) is a “sin”. A statutory “pressure group” or “advocacy
group
“Legcophobia”Fear of going to LegCo
Before July 1997 After July 1997Implemented Not
implementedImplemented Not yet
implementedcount 26* 7 4 21#Median 3 years 6 years
(* The recommendations of 2 reports were implemented after July 1997)(# The Government has announced not to implement the recommendations of 1 report, but no such announcement was made for the other 20 reports.)
Number of reports submitted by the Law Reform Commission (from 1980 to 2010)
One Country Two Systems
Issue of mistrust towards Beijing– 1/7/2003 and aftermath– Cao Erbao (曹二寶 ), Director, Research Section,
Central Liaison Office in HK, (Central Party School’s newspaper, January 2008) – two governing forces in HK
Basic Law – ensuring an executive led government – power centralized in the CE
Ensured a fragmented LegCo with limited power
Way ahead
Power Sharing Maximum transparency Development of political leaders E-government and e-engagement
Power Sharing
Sharing power with the public and with the LegCo
Sharing of information is sharing of power Community engagement – bottom-up and
ownership Distributed governance Constitutional reform
Transparency
Transparency is one of the bases of trust towards the government
Sharing of information increases Transparency and increases trust
Development of political leaders
Elections and Political parties Civil Servants
Non-political or nonpartisan? Revolving door? Ref. French 5th Republic
(Civil servants are stable, politicians come and go)
E-government and e-engagement
ICT creates opportunities Web 2.0 strengthens connectivity among
people but how about between the government and people?
“Facilitate the adoption of Web 2.0 technology by bureaux and departments in public engagement” (Policy Agenda, 2010, Chapter 5)
Manage risk with prudence