The Politics of Policing in Greater China

"Viewing policing in mainland China through a unique Greater China perspective, this volume compares and contrasts the PRC police system with its counterparts in the three off-shore Chinese societies of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao that are all ex-foreign colonies with varied legal-administrative structure and ideo-political realities. This makes better sense than trying to measure Chinese Communist policing against Western standards as seen in the EU (with its alarming anti-terrorism gaps) and the USA (for its tarnished local policing records of entrenched racial bias, excessive use of force, and sheer brutality). This book offers up-to-date coverage with two chapters on Hong Kong's autumn 2014 Umbrella Movement and spring 2016 Mongkok riots as extremely revealing case studies on police-protesters interactive dynamics." (Ming K Chan, Distinguished Practitioner, Center for East Asian Studies, Stanford University, USA) "Professor Sonny Lo is one Hong Kong's most distinguished Political Scientists. His body of work is remarkable, not least, because it consistently and acutely reflects the importance of the Greater China context. This new book fits within this singular, long-term research agenda. The Politics of Policing in Greater China is especially topical, thorough, and cogently argued." (Richard Cullen, Visiting Professor Law, Hong Kong University) "In an elegant, cogent and systematic work, Sonny Lo has thrown out a challenge to serious students of comparative policing. Not only are the case studies of policing in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, unique in their detail and analytic power, they are rich in nuance. Using a framework that incorporates the features of democratic policing, Lo enriches and illuminates the question: what are police good for? This book is essential reading, one that must be read-imaginative, insightful and challenging. I see it as foundational for future studies of the democratization of policing in the modern world." (Peter K. Manning, Elmer V.H. and Eileen M. Brooks Chair in Policing, Northeastern University, USA)

This book examines the politics of policing in Greater China, including mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao.This book examines the politics of policing in Greater China, including mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao. As the author shows, police ideological indoctrination is strongest in mainland China, followed by Hong Kong, and Taiwan, where the police is under increasing political stress, in the aftermath of rising public protests and socio-political movements. Macao's police, on the other hand, is far less politicized and indoctrinated than their mainland Chinese counterpart. This book demonstrates that policing in China is a distinctive and extensive topic, as it involves not only crime control, but also crisis management and protest control, governance and corruption (or anti-corruption), the management of customs and immigration, the control over legal and illegal migrants, the transfer of criminals and extradition, and intergovernmental police cooperation and coordination. As economic integration is increasing rapidly in Greater China, this region's policing deserves special attention.