TNAG-2217-FCO40-3184-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1991 — Page 102

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support of either China or Britain with the expectation that the

government will be forced to concede to their demands. Not

infrequently the government is frustrated by its fading autonomy.

Not surprisingly, a government suffering from declining autonomy

would not have the strong will to govern which is essential to

the exercise of effective rule.

(3) In order to entice the British parliament to accept the

Sino-British Joint Declaration and to muster popular support to

the colonial government in the remaining years of its rule, some

forms of political reforms in a power-sharing direction have been

introduced since the early 1980s. Nevertheless, due to the

hesitancy of the British government, the opposition of China and

the established interests, the indifference of the people and the

weakness of the pro-democratic forces, only a modicum of

democratic reforms have been implemented. 17 Nonetheless, even

though the government still retains enormous powers, its

decision-making prerogatives have been curtailed. Even though the

incorporation of elective elements into the political system does

not alter its executive-centered nature, it nonetheless has

subjected the government to more political constraints on its

actions. The increased level of political participation by the

people has created moderate public opinion pressure on the

government which it has to take into account. Most important of

all, the government's monopoly over the opportunities of

political mobility has ended. Though far from dominant, the

electoral channel provides an alternative outlet for those with