Beijing’s 2007 political reform plan and prospects for Hong Kong's democratization

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Democratization

Publication Date

1-1-2010

Volume

17

Issue

3

First Page

442

Last Page

464

Publisher

Routledge

Keywords

Hong Kong, democracy, democratization, political reforms, Beijing

Abstract

In the September 2008 Legislative Council election, Hong Kong's democrats managed to retain their veto position in the political reform process. Now, the democrats face the dilemma of what to do with Beijing's 2007 plan for Hong Kong's democratization. According to the plan, the people of Hong Kong could see the direct election of the chief executive and the entire legislature in 2017 and 2020, respectively. Although the plan is not perfect, Hong Kong's pan-democratic camp may need to adopt a negotiated approach, given the current political reality and the balance of power between local democrats and Beijing. It is suggested here that there is room for negotiation in the latter's reform plan. If some moderate democrats are willing to pursue a negotiated strategy, Beijing's political reform plan for Hong Kong stands a significant chance of being approved. Recent developments in Hong Kong indicate that such a prospect could indeed materialize.

DOI

10.1080/13510341003700261

Print ISSN

13510347

E-ISSN

1743890X

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2010 Taylor & Francis

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Zhang, B. (2010). Beijing's 2007 political reform plan and prospects for Hong Kong's democratization. Demoncratization, 17(3), 442-464. doi: 10.1080/13510341003700261

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