The primary purpose of this thesis is to find out the most suitable model to describe party-group relations in Hong Kong. The thesis chose the two major political parties the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) and the Democratic Party (DP) as the two cases study for a more comprehensive understanding of party-group relations in Hong Kong. Moreover, the thesis also chose Tseung Kwan O (TKO) district as a pilot study of interest groups' perception and their actual contacts with political parties....[ Read more ]

The primary purpose of this thesis is to find out the most suitable model to describe party-group relations in Hong Kong. The thesis chose the two major political parties the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) and the Democratic Party (DP) as the two cases study for a more comprehensive understanding of party-group relations in Hong Kong. Moreover, the thesis also chose Tseung Kwan O (TKO) district as a pilot study of interest groups' perception and their actual contacts with political parties.

The thesis will find out whether Thomas' seven models on party-group relations, which are applicable to most countries, can be applied to the Hong Kong case. The result of the research shows that Thomas' models can only be roughly used to describe the situation in Hong Kong. Instead of using Thomas' models, a new model called "Autonomous Interest Group Model" is created. This new model should be more applicable to describe the distinct character of party-group relations in Hong Kong.

Findings of the thesis show that party-group relations are generally weak in Hong Kong. The main reason behind is parties in Hong Kong are generally weak, both in terms of actual political power it can gain and their size. The thesis will explain in detail for the factors making the generally weak party-group relations in Hong Kong.

Finally, the thesis shows that the DAB tend to be more successful to develop and maintain friendly relationships with interest groups than the DP. Several key variables are useful to explain the reasons, including party money, party resources, party's leaders' perception on the importance of party-group relations and the coordination by the Liaison Office.