Complex issues challenge consultation mechanism

Paul Yeung argues that this common policymaking measure is falling short of expectations in many ways

Hong Kong uses public consultation as a major policymaking mechanism but critics say the traditional consultation model is hard to sustain and falls short of addressing the public need. The political and social ecology of Hong Kong has changed so drastically since 1997 that governing through the advisory system and conventional public consultation no longer satisfies public expectations. Civil society has actively targeted government failures and demanded the administration become more accountable, transparent and responsive. This problem is especially significant with social policy, where the government faces a high Gini coefficient, rising income disparity and social discontent with welfare policies. Given these challenges, it is imperative that the government and people of Hong Kong thoroughly evaluate the consultation mechanism.

Before inventing a new civic-participation mechanism, it is necessary to evaluate existing ones. Advisory committees are the most traditional type of consultation mechanism. There are 16 advisory committees related to the Labour and Welfare Bureau, covering different welfare and manpower affairs. The research project, From Consultation to Civic Engagement: The Road to Better Policymaking and Governance in Hong Kong, concluded that the traditional consultation mode has failed. Nevertheless, it invented an analytical framework that helped study the engagement process of the advisory mechanism.

Let’s return to the nature of consultation. According to the definition suggested by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, consultation is a two-way relation in which citizens give governments feedback. It is based on the government defining the issue on which citizens’ views are being sought, and requires information provision. The politics of consultation represent a way to mediate directly between ideologies, pressures and social factors. In short, there are three primary functions of consultation: firstly normalization and democratization of relations between different categories of agents; secondly encouraging expression and reconciliation and thirdly facilitating the search for agreement on objectives as well as taking decisions in common.

The consultation mechanism’s effectiveness heavily depends on constraints set in the mechanism. Citizens may indeed hear and be heard in a consultation but under some conditions they lack the power to ensure the powerful heed their views. These conditions are the constraints set in the consultation mechanism. When participation is restricted to these levels, there is no follow-through, hence no assurance status quo will change. When power holders restrict the input of citizens’ ideas solely to this level, participation remains a window-dressing ritual. What citizens achieve is that they have “participated in participation”. And what power holders achieve is evidence that they have gone through the required motions of involving “those people”.

Generally, there are four main constraints in the consultation mechanism. The first is the complexity of consultation itself, which implies the citizens’ capacity to be involved in a participatory process is often predetermined by the type of process itself. Secondly, the weight public input carries in policy outcomes is increasingly constrained by multilateral commitments governments make, and by the need to collaborate with other institutions, or devolve responsibilities. Government commitment to norms underpinning these processes limits the capacity to develop policy responses to public pressure. Thirdly, the government may site unwanted facilities in remote locations to minimize exposure to consultation and controversy. It marks the emergence of NIMBY — not in my backyard — politics, which acts as a constraint upon community consultation. The fourth constraint is the increasing reliance on scientific and technical management of social risks. The more the government believes it must be guided by technical and scientific parameters, the less it feels able to react to community preferences that seem to differ from the expert advice.

Housing, aging, welfare, poverty, environmental and constitutional development issues present tough tasks ahead. The toughness lies in the complexity of the issues and the public engagement. Consultation is not a simple answer to the question because it can also be a problem itself. It is important for the government to evaluate the current consultative mechanism and improve it to meet future challenges.