Showing papers in "The Asian Journal of Public Administration in 1991"

The Comparative Analysis of Bureaucratic Accountability

Abstract: (1991). The Comparative Analysis of Bureaucratic Accountability. Asian Journal of Public Administration: Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 93-104.

Decentralization Policies: Problems and Perspectives

Abstract: (1991). Decentralization Policies: Problems and Perspectives. Asian Journal of Public Administration: Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 67-92.

Chapter One: An Overview of the Hong Kong Legislative Council Elections of 1991

Abstract: In a celebrated article published in 1955, V.O. Key sought to identify the characteristics of what he called 'critical' elections. There were, he felt, three essential features which served to distinguish these kinds of elections from more commonplace varieties. First, critical elections were those 'in which more or less profound readjustments occur in the relation of power within the community;' * secondly, in such elections, the depth and intensity of electoral involvement would be high; and, thirdly, the election would provide the means by which 'new and durable' political groupings were formed. These criteria have been used to pass judgement on the significance of many elections. Most British commentators, for example, seem to agree that the elections of 1906 and 1945 were critical elections. Key himself felt that the American presidential elections of 1896 and 1928 met the conditions of his categorization. Palmer argues that the Ceylonese election of 1956 might also be included. And so, too, could all the pre-independence elections in British colonies in Africa, which were usually marked by high turnouts, a commitment on the part of the colonial government to hand over power to nationalist leaders and the emergence of a mass party. Hong Kong's 1991 Legislative Council elections were officially declared to be critical elections. The Hong Kong government informed the public in advance of the event that the elections were 'historic'. The spokesmen noted that it was the first time that Hong Kong voters had been permitted to elect some members of the legislature under full adult suffrage. Senior government officials called for a high turnout and suggested that, if the elections were a 'success', they might serve to speed up the pace of democratic reform. There were even vague promises, subsequently re-

The Implications of the Corporatization of Health Care Delivery in Hong Kong

Abstract: IntroductionThe Hong Kong Hospital Authority has been formally established with theenactment of the Hospital Authority Ordinance on July 25, 1990. Thisstatutory corporation will soon take over the management and control of allpublic hospitals, which house approximately 90 per cent of the territory'shospital beds. Government hospitals have hitherto been managed andfinanced directly by a government department - the Hospital ServicesDepartment (previously called the Medical & Health Department). Sub-vented hospitals have in theory been owned by voluntary organizations, butin practice they have been heavily subsidized and tightly controlled by thegovernment. While many have expressed concern over the transfer arrange-ments for staff,