從法蘭西斯‧福山觀點看香港可問責政府興衰

Abstract

法蘭西斯‧福山先後在2011年及2014年發表《政治秩序的起源》。福山在著作中提出政治發展的三個組成成分：政府、法治與問責制，而福山亦以此分析英國與中國的政治發展史。 1842年，香港正式成為英國的殖民地，英國殖民管治香港至1997年將主權移交至中國。也就是說，香港先後經歷英國和中國兩種不同的政治建制管治。而在英國的殖民管治下，香港卻迎來持續的政治安定。反之在同為華人的中國管治下，香港的社會卻與政治安定無緣。本論文藉福山提出的政治發展理論，以歷史研究的方式，從英國殖民香港之初，如何在香港建立政府、法治與問責制。及至香港在主權移交後，中國如何承繼由英國建立的香港建制。研究發現，香港之所以能在英國殖民管治時迎來持續的政治安定，係因為英國將自身的《普通法》系統與香港連接，藉此與英國的法治系統接軌。另一方面，在英屬香港政府在吸取過「六七暴動」的教訓後，不斷在香港擴大行政吸納政治，變相在不斷的擴大並建立問責制，惟在主權移交至中國前，英屬香港政府未能將程序性問責完全民主化。福山在著作中從古代中國，分析至中華人民共和國。福山對中國其中一個分析為，中國至今仍未發展出法治。而將要接管一個法治和可問責制發展傾向西方政治的城市，中國只能套入自身的政治秩序管治香港。而其結果，就是中國以其慣用的手段「依法而治」和「鎮壓」，處理香港的政治問題。最後，英國留下來的政治遺產被抺除，香港正式步入中國式的政治秩序。

Francis Fukuyama published "The Origins of Political Order" in 2011 and "Political Order and Political Decay" in 2014. In these works, Fukuyama proposed three components of political development: government, rule of law, and accountability. He also used these components to analyze the political development histories of the United Kingdom and China. In 1842, Hong Kong officially became a British colony, and British colonial rule continued until 1997 when sovereignty was transferred to China. This means that Hong Kong experienced governance under two different political systems, British and Chinese. Surprisingly, Hong Kong enjoyed sustained political stability under British colonial rule, whereas under Chinese governance, Hong Kong's society and political stability were elusive. This thesis employs Fukuyama's theory of political development and utilizes historical research to explore how government, rule of law, and accountability were established in Hong Kong from the early days of British colonial rule. It also examines how China inherited the Hong Kong system established by the British after the sovereignty handover. The study finds that Hong Kong's ability to achieve continuous political stability during British colonial rule was due to the connection between the British Common Law system and Hong Kong, aligning it with the British legal system. On the other hand, the British Hong Kong government, having learned from the 1967 Hong Kong riots, continually expanded administrative political inclusion in Hong Kong, indirectly establishing accountability through gradual expansion. However, before the sovereignty transfer to China, the British Hong Kong government failed to fully democratize procedural accountability in Hong Kong. Fukuyama's analysis in his works extends from ancient China to the People's Republic of China. One of Fukuyama's analyses of China is that it has yet to develop the rule of law. Taking over a city that leans towards Western-style politics with a system based on its own political order, China can only impose its familiar methods of "rule by law" and "suppression" to address Hong Kong's political issues. As a result, the political legacy left by the British is erased, and Hong Kong officially enters into China's political order.