The quality of governance in Hong Kong has been a hot topic since former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa began his second term. It has usually been viewed in negative terms.
Over the past two years there have been mass demonstrations, legal challenges, and public outcries over specific government policies. Each has, in its own way, reflected the public's desire for better governance.
Beijing, too, has been troubled. President Hu Jintao last December called for improvements. Mr Tung promised to do better in his January policy address - and then resigned in March.
A study of Hong Kong's governance over the past three years might, therefore, have been expected to give our city the thumbs down. But that was not the verdict of the World Bank in its review released this week.
The study concluded that governance in Hong Kong has improved over the past three years. Our city's score improved on all six indicators used by the researchers, when compared with the results in 2002. They included accountability, effectiveness of government and the rule of law.
This is a positive view of developments in Hong Kong, which was studied along with more than 200 states or territories.
But some caution must be exercised before reading too much into the conclusions. The methodology used is subjective and complex and there is, of course, a margin of error. The six indicators are based on 352 variables and taken from the databases of 30 institutes, including the Heritage Foundation and Economist Intelligence Unit.
