ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the experience of Hong Kong's democratization process, demonstrating the difficulties of democratic transition in the liberal autocracy of Hong Kong. Britain began to prepare for possible decolonization and democratization after Governor MacLehose visited Beijing in 1979. The democracy movement in the 1980s had good support from civil society organizations, who believed that the electoral path could bring about social reforms. The transition was too protracted for the democrats to keep the solidarity and momentum of the movement. The largest pro-democracy opposition party, the Democratic Party, experienced severe factional struggles after 1997 over the future direction of the movement. Democracy was seen as an instrument to improve governance and bring about other political goods, and hence the people could be content with partial democracy if these goods are delivered. The democrats insisted the nomination method should match international standards of democratic elections as laid down by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
