Legalization of the Chinese Communist Party’s Governance over Hong Kong

ABSTRACT The conflict between Mainland China and Hong Kong regarding the issue of how much autonomy Hong Kong would retain is becoming increasingly intense, especially after the Occupy Central Movement arose in 2014. This paper focuses on the “rule of law” policy under Xi’s government and analyzes how and why the CCP’s rule over Hong Kong was strengthened. Although Xi promotes the “rule of law,” it is different from the one in democracy. This paper, first, outlining the characteristics of the “rule of law” during Xi Jinping’s era and explaining the differences between the rule of law in democracy and the one in China. Second analysis is revealing the personal affairs and organizational structure of the party apparatus to see the linkage of the “rule of law” policy under Xi’s government with the CCP’s control over Hong Kong, and third is examining the reflection and rhetoric of the CCP’s “rule of law” governance over Hong Kong based on the politicians’ discourses. This paper reveals that the “rule of law” with Chinese characteristics implies standardizing the law, centralizing the power, and stabilizing society. The CCP has continually claimed to be “Governing Hong Kong according to Law” but the CCP would only accept the “rule of law” with these characteristics and, of course, without democratization.