Governors, Politics and The Colonial Office: Public Policy in Hong Kong, 1918?8

Foreword

The sixteenth book in the Royal Asiatic Society’s Hong Kong Study Series traces the development of political and constitutional conventions , rules that augment or diminish the power of various offices and actors, against a wider backdrop, including the evolution of Hong Kong society and the ebb and flow of power between: the Colonial Office; the Governor, “the man on the spot”; Hong Kong’s Civil Service; and various Hong Kong actors, official and unofficial, expatriate and Chinese. In this fascinating book, Gavin Ure fleshes out the impact of political figures and how their actions, and inactions, various imperial or Hong Kong political and administrative affairs. The tendrils of Hong Kong’s budding autonomy from the United Kingdom are identified and followed with attention paid to the various actors, including observing which actors fade in importance and which ones seize more of the stage. Rather than strictly being a historical narrative, as earlier books in the Royal Asiatic Society’s Hong Kong Study Series have been, this book discusses the growth of a political state, bureaucratic autonomy, viewed through the political theory of the American political scientist Daniel Carpenter, the Freed Professor of Government at Harvard. Governors, Politics, and the Colonial Office is not a break from a tradition , it is a natural extension for the Sir Lindsay and Lady Ride Memorial Fund, which we will follow up in addition to continuing our original format of more narrative-driven books exploring the history, culture and society of Hong Kong and neighbouring regions. The Royal Asiatic Society’s Hong Kong Studies Series was made possible by a generous founding donation of the Trustees of the Clague Trust Fund and an approximately matching donation from the Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch in honour of our first Vice President, Sir Lindsay Ride, and his wife, Lady Ride, and generous donations from other donors. Foreword viii Foreword The Sir Lindsay and Lady Ride Memorial Fund is always interested in both relevant proposals and manuscripts as well as donations and bequests to help us continue supporting books which might not otherwise have been published about Hong Kong and her region. Christopher L.B. Young President Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch April 2012 ...