Covert Colonialism：governance,surveillance and political culture in British Hong Kong,c.1966-97
杨阳
Florence Mok's Covert Colonialism is an exceptional study of state-society relations in Hong Kong under British rule. Through detailed historical analysis, Mok examines how the colonial government monitored and communicated with the local population via certain ‘covert' channels - such as Town Talk and the Movement of Opinion Direction(MOOD)opinion-monitoring exercises - and how it collected and utilised public opinion in policymaking between 1966 and 1997. Drawing primarily on archival materials from the UK National Archives and Hong Kong's Public Records Office, Mok compellingly demonstrates that although the colonial state was reluctant to pursue democratic reforms particularly in the aftermath of the 1966 Star Ferry riots and the 1967 leftist riots, its opinion-monitoring exercises played a major role in gauging public sentiment and enhancing political communication between the ruler and the ruled; moreover, social movements - whether driven by reformists or radicals - along with public concerns over issues such as immigration,nationality, and democratisation, exerted socio-political pressure on the colonial administration and affected its policymaking to a certain extent.
（政治与公共管理学院 李广宇）
