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This book examines the government of Hong Kong since its handover to China in 1997, arguing that Hong Kong has been poorly governed and that this is what lies behind regular mass protests since 2003. It considers the different aspects of these government problems, and assesses prospects for the future.

This book raises interesting questions about the process of democratisation in Hong Kong and asks why democracy has been so long delayed when the standard of living in Hong Kong has become so middle class.

This article aims to identify the causes that underlie the mass participation in anti-authoritarian protests of Hong Kong in 2019. The research draws from the perceived performance approach and social learning approach and uses survey data to explain the mass participation. Four variables regarding perceived political performance, rather than perceived economic performance, are found to exert a causal effect on individuals' decisions to participate in mass protests. These perceived political performance variables include mass dissatisfaction with Hong Kong's lack of democracy and the police's performance. Thus, an attempt to stifle the demonstrations by offering merely economic incentives will not suffice. In light of the social learning approach, the younger and more educated people in Hong Kong are found to be more supportive of the protests. The findings highlight the failure of the authoritarian government in China to earn the political trust of the younger and more educated generation in Hong Kong. This article concludes by drawing attention to the dim prospects for Hong Kong's political stability and prosperity.

Do parliamentary regimes outperform presidential ones in reducing democratic breakdown? Given the relatively higher breakdown rate of presidential regimes as compared to that of parliamentary regimes, which factors can explain the breakdown of presidential democracies? Using an original global dataset covering 85 countries from 1946 to 2002, this study shows presidential democracies are not intrinsically more likely to collapse than parliamentary ones. The study also reveals the oft-cited 'military legacy' cannot explain breakdowns of presidential democracies. Instead, a less effective legislature and unfavorable U.S. foreign policy, two neglected factors in the extant literature, can robustly explain the breakdown of presidential democracies. This research confirms more effective legislatures are more likely to achieve oversight of the military and reduce the latter's threats to democratic survival than less effective legislatures. A test for simultaneity bias indicates the type of political regime does not exert a causal effect on legislative effectiveness. Adapted from the source document.

In September 2008, pandemocrats retained the voters' support during the Legislative Council election. Beijing's interferences with the elections, though less blatant than those of 2004, unmistakably cast doubt on its sincerity to implement democracy in Hong Kong by 2020. In 2008, Beijing promoted a new wave of pro-Beijing professionals with a stronger and more independent image. The sudden rise and stunning electoral victories of the Social Democrats, who are hallmarked by civil disobedience on behalf of democratic and social reforms, reflect a deepening sense of public despair about the futility of the current political system, and a proliferating radicalism.

A decade after the handover of their city to China, Hong Kong's "pandemocrats" remain able to stand their ground at the ballot box.