Mass Movement and Interactive Political Process: Labour’s Struggle for a Minimum Wage in Post-colonial Hong Kong, 1998-2006
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.
大型的群眾運動和互動政治過程：1998-2006年香港最低工資運動
本文旨在研究在一個不民主和官商聯合的政治體制裏，一個成功的大型群眾運動如何創造新的政治機遇，改變最低工資運動的發展（1998-2006年）。研究顯示，強大的群眾運動不但能暴露統治精英的脆弱性，更重要的是令政治聯盟分裂，改變政府與政治精英的計算，迫使他們重新詮釋當前的局勢，並作出選擇性的妥協。在這種政治體制不穩定的狀態下，那些能夠把握時機聚合社會目光的挑戰者自然較吸引政府注意。 由於勞工運動者在適當時機下揭露政府外判工人的低薪及長工時問題，獲傳媒廣泛報道，故成功地將「最低工資和最高工時」的議題帶入政治議程。再者，獨立工會和親中工會為了爭取工人支持，各自提出不同的最低工資立法方案，競相動員群眾，也令政府不能關掉「政策窗」。基於上述的理解，本文將重點分析群眾運動與政治體制的相互影響如何改變現存的其他群眾運動。
