Affect of Regime Changes on Nonstate Actors in Taiwan–Hong Kong Relations (1997–2010): Publicly and Privately Affiliated Think Tanks As Case Studies

摘要

The article reviews the roles of nonstate actors (NSAs) in general in Taiwan–Hong Kong relations during the administration of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's first Chief Executive, Tung Chee-hwa (1997–2003), in order to explore the contributions and limitations of these agencies in constructing political spaces between Hong Kong and Taiwan. The first part of the article explains the reasons behind the short appearance of NSAs in Taiwan–Hong Kong relations after 1997. The second part, the case studies, looks at two selected NSAs: the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute in Hong Kong and the Friends of Hong Kong and Macau Association based in Taipei. The reasons for the setbacks they faced after 2003 and their possible roles following leadership changes in Hong Kong and Taiwan in the run-up to 2010 will be analyzed in the last section.