Civil service and economic freedom Essay Example for Free

Civil service and economic freedom Essay Around a decade ago, Hong Kong became the hottest topic not because of some festival but rather due to a political event. On July 1, 1997, the sovereignty of Hong Kong was officially transferred to the Peoples Republic of China from the United Kingdom. The Handover, as it is most often called, signaled the official end of British rule on the colony. At present, Hong Kong is one of the top financial centers of the world. It cannot be denied however that the handover was a significant event in its history. It is therefore important to keep in mind that in studying the history of Hong Kong and learning about the place, one has to give emphasis on this event. One resource to read is a paper written by Ming K. Chan titled, â€Å"The Legacy of the British Administration of Hong Kong: A View from Hong Kong,† published in The China Quarterly in 1997. In the paper, Chan gives his insights on four major contributions by the British to Hong Kong as cited by Christopher Patten, the last British Governor of the colony. The four major contributions are rule of law, democratization, civil service and economic freedom. Chan uses these four points raised as his starting points in discussing the legacies of the British. Chan however does not stop merely at describing what these legacies are but goes on to show its weaknesses and flaws. Under the rule of law for example, he states that the legal system implemented by the British in Hong Kong was, like most legal system, aimed at providing fair and equal justice to every citizen. These same laws though turned out to be not only draconian in nature but also discriminatory. Specifically laws that were said to be anti-Chinese thus failing to achieve the aim that it was designed to give. One example of its failure is that during the British rule, English and not Chinese was the preferred language used by courts. As a result, even if the courts practiced a jury system, only those who were able to attain a higher education were able to serve. In effect, this implies that the jury system failed because it did not represent the society in general. The paper also contests the idea that Hong Kong had economic freedom. The paper admits that while Hong Kong did achieve a world class status, the British still intervened in matters that carried significant importance. The principle of laissez-faire, while a good economic concept, was instead misused to the point that it covered up unfair practices by the government. An example is the rule requiring the use of motor vehicles manufactured by the British public buses. While civil service has always been considered as the foundation of British rule, the reality in Hong Kong is that the state of the civil service system is not as efficient as it seems. The paper considers this as somewhat ironic since the localization of the civil service only when the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed. The paper further cites that with the hierarchy being led by people who have little or no understanding of China or even the Chinese community in Hong Kong, their effectiveness as administrators is rather lessened. The biggest failure though is under the British civil service system, those in power failed to participate in the issue of the reintegration.