Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1997

Nostalgic about Colonial Status The majority of the respondents were still basically in favour of and nostalgic about the colonial status of the territory. Democratic reforms i n the last decade apparently have not made a dent in the public support for the authoritarian yet benign ruler, w i th over 70 per cent of the respondents supporting the local civil service. While other surveys conducted by Prof. Lau between 1985 and 1991 show that the credibility of the Hong Kong government was gradually dropping, the same government nevertheless enjoyed a decent level of public acceptance. It has been generally perceived as fair, and for it there is even a streak of affection. Mild Democratic Aspirations Complacency w i t h the existing political system does not mean that Hong Ko ng peopl e lack the desire for institutional changes. About 60 per cent of the respondents wer e of the opinion that f u r t he r steps shou ld be taken to democratize Ho n g Kong ' s po l i t i c al system. These respondents were usually younger, better educated, and wealthier. Yet, it should also be noted that these same people are not necessarily interested i n political participation: only 40 per cent of them had voted in the 1991 elections to the Legislative Council. A plurality of respondents tended to define democratic gove r nment as a Prof. Lau Siu-kai graduated with a B.Soc.Sc. degree from the University of Hong Kong in 1971. After obtaining his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1975, he joined The Chinese University as lecturer in sociology. He was appointed as professor of sociology in October 1990. Prof. Lau specializes in studies on Hong Kong and has published extensively on the subject. He is currently associate director of the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies. Chinese University Bulletin Spring • Summer 1997 28