Mass Movement and Interactive Political Process(out of stock)

This paper examines how a large-scale mass movement changed the political prospects of labour challengers to advance the claims for a statutory minimum wage under the undemocratic, business-aligned and executive-led regime of post-colonial Hong Kong (1998-2006). The findings show that apart from demonstrating the vulnerability of ruling elites to challengers, the successful mass protests altered the calculations of the government and political elites through creating elite division, and thus prompted the government to reinterpret the political context and make selective concessions. Under this political crisis, labour challengers who brought a timely focus to pressing problems gained the leverage to place the issue of a minimum wage on the political agenda. The resulting competition among opposing trade federations to achieve a similar goal then escalated, which pressured the government into keeping the issue from being taken off the agenda and making changes. This paper emphasizes the role of the dynamic interaction between mass movements and political contexts in the revitalization of pre-existing movements.