The goal of this paper is to illustrate why the current setting provides both the stimulus and opportunity for change in the political landscape of China, with Hong Kong providing the grounds for experimentation. It seeks to identify what work must be done by the key players in this undertaking. The key players include the newly elected legislators, the pro-democracy camp, the new leadership in Beijing, and the Hong Kong community and media. Finally, it acknowledges the challenges that will face this optimistic goal.

The current situation presents a window of opportunity for the people of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to capitalize on the warming relations with the Chinese leadership in Beijing,1and perhaps illustrate the benefits that political reform could provide for both the HKSAR and the Mainland. What are the components of the current situation that have given rise to this opportunity? China is feeling more secure with its international image than it has in recent history. The Chinese Olympic team was highly successful at Athens in 2004 and has much to look forward to when in 2008 they will be competing on their own turf in Beijing. The growth of the economy continues and China was invited to participate in talks with the Group of Seven. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has just celebrated its 55th anniversary, and has successfully overseen the first peaceful and orderly transition of power in its history. Jiang Zemin officially relinquished his last position of power as chairman for the Central Military Commission to Hu Jintao,2 who appears willing to take some bold initiatives in order to improve the CCP\u2019s ability to govern China as a ruling party.

Furthermore, the HKSAR held the most democratically advanced Legislative Council (LegCo) elections thus far in September 2004, producing a valuable plurality of voices and personalities in the legislature. The elections have brought to the legislature a group of lawmakers that is not dominated by one political camp, either pro-democracy or pro-Beijing. Instead, this body consists of many independents and moderates that could usher in the winds of change for Hong Kong politics. The cards have aligned in such a way that the next few years could witness very interesting changes in the political landscape of China, with Hong Kong continuing to act as an important testing ground.

Deng Xiaoping died in 1997. Hu Jintao is now referred to as the core of the Fourth Generation of
Leaders and he holds the positions of general secretary of the CCP, president of the People\u2019s Republic
of China (PRC), and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

This paper will illustrate the evolution of the political structure in both Hong Kong and China, and identify the similarities and differences in cultural attitudes, societal demands and historical context between the two which influence their interactions today. By understanding the steps that have led to the present situation, it is possible to recognize the most productive steps for the future which will enable a stable and rational progression towards greater democratization. The most important way forward for political reform involves open dialogue and rational decision-making on the part of all actors involved, including the leadership in Beijing, the newly elected legislators in Hong Kong, as well as the government and the people in Hong Kong. Where the rule of law is still protected, the media still operates freely and critically and mass mobilization has proven both possible and effective on numerous occasions,3 every person in Hong Kong can play a role in developing the future political system. Perhaps soon we will see this kind of participation taking place in China as well, as more and more Mainland visitors experience a different way of life in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has an opportunity today to show China the benefits of this way of life and encourage political reform.

On September 12th 2004 the third Legislative Council elections took place in the HKSAR since its establishment in 1997. Half the legislature, or 30 members, was returned by direct elections, voter turnout was high and the newly elected body of lawmakers vary tremendously in political affiliations, personality, and agenda. It was an important step for Hong Kong as this year\u2019s election was the last one which has been prearranged in the Basic Law and now stands as the most democratically advanced. However, now the issue at hand is what to do in the 2008 elections. Beijing has ruled out full universal suffrage, but clearly political reform should take place before that time in order to provide the most useful, representative, and appropriate electoral structure for that election. Before positing any recommendations, it is necessary to review Hong Kong\u2019s own political history, as a colonial entity under the British crown and a separate but influential city within China. Furthermore, understanding the operation of the HKSAR in the last seven years will make it more obvious as to why Hong Kong\u2019s current political situation could contribute valuably to the evolution of political reform in China.

During British colonial rule, three important factors acted as constraints on any democratic advances in Hong Kong, even in the second half of the twentieth century when the British were beginning to actively promote decolonization in most of the rest of its empire.4First, the Chinese empire to the north from which the British extracted this prosperous trading port was never discreet in its opposition to the British presence or any advances made towards more representative and democratic

to pass strict national security legislation, Hong Kong has gained a reputation for its ability to mobilize the masses in order to express public discontent. Similar rallies were also held on January 1st and July 1st2 00 4.

It seemed unlikely at the time that the British Crown would not have the power in the future to resist a demand for the reinstatement of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty. However, the Convention of 1898 which only leased the remainder of Kowloon and the New Territories to the British for 99 years paved the way for the Chinese to reacquire both the nation\u2019s dignity and a thriving city on a southern peninsula of the Mainland.6

The timing of Deng Xiaoping\u2019s economic reform initiatives in the late 1970s and British recognition of the approaching 1997 deadline set into effect a complex debate over what Hong Kong\u2019s political system would look like at the time of the handover. At that time Hong Kong played only a secondary role in deciding its future as the British tried to negotiate a more democratized system.

The second factor that limited a strong democratic drive in the British colony was the ability of the colonial government to absorb Hong Kong\u2019s big business elites into the governmental structure as \u201cunofficial members\u201d of the Executive Council (ExCo) and LegCo. The appointment of local Chinese businessmen helped to enhance the colonial administration\u2019s legitimacy, give the native population a sense of inclusion and representation in the governance of the territory, and placate potential adversaries among the more powerful members of the Chinese elite. The only failure of the system was that the local population in fact still had no voice within the government, and where social reforms were needed, their supposed \u2018representatives\u2019 were often against them. Therefore, the British administration ended up playing referee between ordinary Hong Kong people and the elite unofficial members in ExCo and LegCo. In order to explain the societal imbalance, the colonial administration created the myth of the \u201capolitical\u201d people of Hong Kong. Rather than admitting that the appointed elites did not represent public interest, the British chose to portray the locals as uninterested in politics.7

Despite the fabrication, the British were able to convince both the outside world and even most of Hong Kong\u2019s residents that this was in fact an accurate depiction of Hong Kong life until very recently. The third constraining factor on democratic aspirations in Hong Kong explains how this image was sustained: while democratic revolutions were making waves around the rest of the world, Hong Kong was enjoying high standards of living, fast socio-economic development, broad civil liberties, and a government which provided benign leadership and practiced the rule of law. Furthermore, while the government practiced a hands-off approach to the economy and allowed big businesses to get very rich on their own, a more hands-on approach in building up physical infrastructure and making everyday life for the entire community more comfortable allowed for a general acceptance of British rule in the territory. The lack of democracy was hardly a concern when there was money to be made and high standards of living to be enjoyed.8Furthermore, Hong Kong society