ABSTRACT
This chapter discussed cases of political-administrative relations in policymaking and implementation during 2012–2022 largely based on public information. The public mood was highly critical of Leung Chun-ying administration and filibusters in Legislative Council restricted it from initiating policy changes to resolve social-economic problems, even though the political-administrative relations were found collaborative in two cases. The politics-administration conflicts under Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor administration were in the form of civil servants protesting against government extradition bill and police officers’ use of force. There were also contestations over the meaning of political neutrality. The political crisis related to the extradition bill enabled the Lam administration to mobilise political support from the Chinese Communist Party Center to uphold hierarchical loyalty as one of the most important civil service values. The case of Hong Kong confirms that institutional stability and changes are outcome of actors’ ongoing political contestation over the meaning, application and enforcement of ambiguous rules that have implication for resource distribution.
