【明報專訊】"Governance efficiency" normally refers to the ability of the government to formulate and implement policies, allocate its resources and respond to the needs and interests of its people from all social strata so as to govern efficiently and maintain stable development and progress.

What is good governance?

As defined by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), good governance has eight major characteristics. A government whose governance is good is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and upholds the rule of law. It makes sure that corruption is minimised, that minorities' views are taken into account and that the voices of those in society who are most vulnerable are heard.

Governance authority vs governance crisis

To govern efficiently, the government has to gain the trust and approval of its people and establish governance authority. A governance crisis happens when its governance is easily challenged by its public or its legislature. Many think Hong Kong is facing such a difficulty. That is evident from the filibustering in the Legislative Council and the SAR's "city of demonstrations" label.

Factors that enhance and undermine governance

Whether a policy responds to or is in keeping with public views; whether matters having to do with the public interest are handled in a transparent and responsible manner; whether government officials are unlikely to abuse their powers; whether government officials are trustworthy and honest; whether government agencies can channel the views of the people to the decision makers; whether the media enjoys freedom.

Events that have undermined governance authority

–Hong Kong: lead contamination of tap water; the Occupy Movement/the controversy over constitutional reform; the case of the seven policemen; serious delays and budget overruns of the project of the Hong Kong section of the XRL (高鐵)

–Mainland China: much -criticised human rights record, the government's crackdown on "rights-protection" lawyers and its restriction of free speech; food safety issues.

Judicial reviews × governance efficiency

Hong Kong citizens have the right to file for judicial review. As such applications have been on the rise in recent years, some people think that the system has been abused, and that has made it difficult for the government to govern. Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal Geoffrey Ma said in January 2016 that court rulings on judicial review cases were often guidelines for good governance.

Controversial judicial review cases

The demolition of Queen's Pier, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the case initiated by foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) seeking permanent residence, the case concerning transgender people's right to marry as their identified gender rather than their biological sex at birth, the government's refusal to issue TV licence to HKTV.

WGI × Hong Kong and mainland China

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) gauge the governance of a place in six dimensions. The total marks in each dimension is 100. In 2015, mainland China scored 68.3 marks in "government effectiveness", the highest amongst the six dimensions. It scored as low as 4.9 marks in "voice and accountability". The scores Hong Kong achieved the same year are as follows: (see the table)

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