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In 1997, the results of an administrative ethics survey of senior Hong Kong public servants were reported in this journal. Using the same questionnaire in 2011, we assessed the ways in which values have changed in the intervening period. Despite major systemic reforms in the civil service, which has evolved from a classic Weberian to a neo-Weberian bureaucracy, organizational, rather than individual, values generally appear to have strengthened. The explanation seems to be that enhanced classical Weberian organizational values are not perceived to be incompatible with high standards of personal morality. Adherence to familiar Weberian bureaucratic principles also affords civil servants some protection in an environment in which their performance is increasingly subject to critical scrutiny by local politicians, the society, an ever-watchful media, and the Chinese government. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Elections under hybrid systems may serve both the conventional purposes of elections in democracies and the legitimating function more commonly found in authoritarian regimes. We evaluate the functionality of the 2004 Legislative Council election in Hong Kong in this regard and analyse the consequences for the political system. We argue that the election weakened rather than strengthened the legitimacy of the system and that it was dysfunctional for the attainment of some of the traditional functions of elections in democracies such as political recruitment, informed debate and the selection of a representative assembly. The election also raised questions about the degree to which bias in the present system towards the election of pro-government, pro-China forces can be sustained in the face of an electoral outcome that shows majority support among voters for democratic candidates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]