The Changing Political Culture of Hong Kong's Voters

This paper aims at tracing and analyzing the continuities and discontinuities of Hong Kong voters' changing political culture during the transition from a British colony to a Special Administrative Region (SAR). The 1991 and 1995 surveys illustrate that the political orientation of the voters has been developing toward a more participatory albeit alienated political culture. This inchoate pluralist political culture tends to be incongruent with the existing and future political systems in Hong Kong. This alienation stems from the voters' aspirations for true democracy, the lack of confidence in Britain and China to genuinely look after Hong Kong's interests, and confusion over the conflicting claims of authority in Hong Kong between London and Beijing. The 1991 and 1995 studies of Hong Kong's political culture suggest that its political system will gradually develop toward a more open and democratic government in order to alleviate democratic challenge as well as the crises of legitimacy and confidence.