In the chapter of the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (the Report) about “upholding and improving ‘one country, two systems’ (OCTS) and promoting the national reunification”, much emphasis is given by General Secretary Xi Jinping to “adhering to the unity of the central government’s comprehensive jurisdiction over (the special administrative regions) and ensuring their high degree of autonomy, insisting on ‘executive-led governance’, supporting the chief executives and the governments of the SARs in governance by law, and upgrading the overall governance capacity and performance of the SARs”.
At the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress, President Xi Jinping adamantly pointed out that “we must firmly promote the practice of OCTS and the great cause of the national reunification. The promotion of the construction of a strong country is inseparable from the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao”. Evidently, only a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government that can achieve “executive-led governance” and demonstrate effective governance can meet the requirements assigned to the city about “promoting the building of a strong country” and implementing OCTS comprehensively and accurately. At the same time, the Report also underscores the importance of “developing and strengthening the forces of patriotism which love Hong Kong and the country”.
Since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, for some time, the city’s prosperity, stability, development and governance have been severely disrupted by the political turmoil and social divisions instigated by internal and external hostile forces. This is also amply reflected in the absence of “executive-led governance” and administrative impotence and ineffectiveness. From a constitutional point of view, the political system of the HKSAR prescribed by the Basic Law is an out-and-out “executive-led” political system because it endows the chief executive with a lofty political status and extensive decision-making powers, including policymaking power, power over personnel appointments, fiscal power, and the power to dissolve the Legislative Council when necessary. The Basic Law entrusts the chief executive, as the head of the HKSAR, with great responsibilities and enormous powers to ensure OCTS is fully and accurately implemented. However, summing up the past, we have increasingly realized that the full realization of “executive-led governance” cannot be attained by constitutional design alone. It must also be strongly complemented and buttressed by other necessary subjective and objective factors.
First, we must ensure the organic unity of the central government’s comprehensive jurisdiction over the HKSAR and the latter’s high degree of autonomy. Specifically, the central government and the HKSAR government must engage in a complementary division of duties and cooperate closely to create a milieu conducive to effective governance. Only when the HKSAR’s chief executive receives the strong and wise leadership and guidance of the central government can he gain high political prestige and the ability to manage the city’s complicated political situation, resist the interference and onslaught of internal and external hostile forces, and promote Hong Kong’s economic growth, social development, people’s livelihoods, and the full and accurate implementation of OCTS. On Dec 30 last year, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress interpreted Articles 14 and 47 of the National Security Law for Hong Kong, clearly indicating that the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the HKSAR, headed by the chief executive, is held accountable to the central government in safeguarding national security. This body has the right to make judgments and decisions on national security issues. And the decisions it makes are not subject to judicial review and are legally enforceable. This move clarifies that the HKSAR government has major powers and responsibilities in safeguarding national security. It in effect emboldens the HKSAR government to be more proactive in pursuing “executive-led governance” and exercising executive power to ensure national security in the future.
Under the reform plan of the Party and State institutions announced last month, a Hong Kong and Macao work office of the CPC Central Committee will be established based on the existing Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council. Its job is to safeguard national security, ensure people’s livelihoods and well-being, and conduct investigations and research related to supporting Hong Kong and Macao’s integration into the national development, overall planning and coordination, as well as supervision and implementation of responsibilities. This means that the central government under the leadership of the CPC will strengthen its guidance of, overall planning and coordination with the HKSAR government, integrate the internal and external resources of the Party and the government, make good use of the central government’s comprehensive jurisdiction over the city, and bolster the political prestige and governance capabilities of the HKSAR government. All these are devised to enable the principle of “executive-led governance” to be further materialized.
Second, the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong” must be realized to allow the patriotic forces to fully dominate the city’s entire governance structure. Only in this way can Hong Kong secure cooperation and positive interaction between the executive and legislature and ensure that the judiciary will fully and correctly understand OCTS and implement the Basic Law. And only in these ways will the HKSAR’s entire governance structure competently shoulder the responsibility of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, as well as earnestly implementing OCTS. Only after the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong” is fully implemented can the chief executive and the HKSAR government fully and effectively exercise the broad powers conferred on them by the Basic Law without being derailed by internal and external hostile forces. In the past two years, under the new electoral system, the Election Committee, the Legislative Council, and the chief executive were successfully elected one after another. Today, the HKSAR’s governance structure is completely dominated by patriotic forces; the executive and the legislature are cooperating smoothly; the HKSAR government enjoys the full support of LegCo; administrative efficiency has significantly risen; and the principle of “executive-led governance” has been largely fulfilled.
Third, the chief executive and the HKSAR government must eliminate the past scourges of the dearth of self-confidence, the insufficient sense of responsibility, and the political passivity to become a strong, capable and vigorous government. Previously, some government officials were palpably influenced by Western political values and evinced psychological resistance to the CPC and socialism, with weak national consciousness. They were unwilling to accept that their legitimacy to govern the HKSAR came from the authorization of the Chinese State and the central government. On the contrary, they tended to think that since they were not “elected” by Hong Kong residents, their political legitimacy was deficient. Consequently, these misguided officials were often pusillanimous in exercising the powers conferred by the Basic Law to avoid being slammed by internal and external hostile forces for “abuse of power”. This could easily result in their being captivated by others in governance and lacking a sense of responsibility, determination, ability and courage in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests as well as defending the legitimate powers of the central government. At the same time, the dogmas of “laissez-faire”, “positive nonintervention” and “small government, big market” that prevailed during British rule had also foisted huge subjective constraints on quite a few officials of the HKSAR government. Furthermore, the weakness of the ethos of “serving the people” had led the HKSAR government to turn a blind eye to, or be unwilling, or be afraid to deal with the deep-seated social contradictions that have incessantly accumulated and intertwined since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland. These contradictions have already triggered a lot of public grievances and anger and impeded the city’s development. They have not only severely damaged the government’s reputation but also provided ample opportunities for internal and external hostile forces to stir up trouble. After the central government brought chaos to order in Hong Kong in the past several years, Hong Kong has regained order and stability. The HKSAR government has begun to heartily understand that it must play an active role in promoting Hong Kong’s economic development and improving people’s livelihoods. It has formally announced the obsoleteness of the dogma of “small government, big market”. As patriots are now governing Hong Kong, the leaders and senior officials of the HKSAR government are no longer encumbered by self-doubts about their “political legitimacy”, and are thus more ready to exercise powers to master and shape the political situation. Today, the factors that have been subjective constraints on the operation of the HKSAR government in the past have weakened substantially.
Finally, the HKSAR government must enhance its ability to unite, organize and mobilize Hong Kong’s social forces with the support and cooperation of the central government and patriotic forces, so that it can garner and deploy bountiful resources to promote socioeconomic development and the resolution of its deep-seated contradictions, particularly in breaking down the obstructions of vested interests to institutional and policy reforms and facilitating the construction of large-scale infrastructural projects. Simultaneously, the HKSAR government should step up efforts to promote the solidarity and expansion of patriotic forces. Only with the support of all sectors and drawing on the collective wisdom and efforts of all parties can “executive-led governance” be fully realized and achieve substantial results. Since the inauguration of the new HKSAR government, the relationship between the government and the community has improved. It’s expected that after the reform of district councils, the government can make better use of these local bodies to expand its social support base and improve administrative effectiveness with more-solid grassroots support.
In general, “executive-led governance”, the central government’s comprehensive jurisdiction over Hong Kong, and “patriots administering Hong Kong” together form an organic whole. In the past few years, the central government has taken decisive actions to promulgate and implement the NSL, revamp Hong Kong’s election system, and foster a cooperative and amicable executive-legislative relationship. It also works with the HKSAR government and the patriots to powerfully push forward the building up of the patriotic forces, robustly counter internal and external hostile forces, actively promote community building and social cohesion, vigorously carry out national and patriotic education, and lay a solid foundation for the final and comprehensive realization of “executive-led governance”. Under the circumstances that the HKSAR government is increasingly able to practice “executive-led governance”, increasingly active, self-confident and courageous in assuming administrative and political responsibility, increasingly daring to exercise power, and increasingly geared to “people-oriented” and “development-oriented” governance, Hong Kong’s good governance and long-term peace and stability will become a normal situation. The chief executive and the HKSAR government should be more capable of fulfilling their responsibilities as the “head of the family”, catering to the well-being of Hong Kong and contributing to the country.
The author is a professor emeritus of sociology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a consultant of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.