Out of the political shadows: How new think tanks push for change by wooing the public
Political heavyweights want to make their mark through active advocacy rather than research
A new wave of think tanks is expected to reshape policy formulation by focusing on active advocacy rather than passive research.
The three new outfits also intend to break the mould of existing think tanks, whose portfolio of research papers and work, a Post investigation found, expands and shrinks depending on the political fortunes of their founders, be they politicians or tycoons.
The new initiatives are spearheaded by three heavyweights - pan-democrat Ronny Tong Ka-wah, Legislative Council President Jasper Tsang Yok-sing and former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa. They all aim to actively engage the public in their push towards their respective goals such as universal suffrage, good governance, prosperous development and seeking social consensus in highly-polarised Hong Kong.
They see active advocacy as the only way to thrive and wield influence on policymaking - by wooing the public instead of the government - and believe that old think tanks have been too constrained by their government-oriented approach to flex their policy muscles.
Tong, who aims to find a "third way" to achieve universal suffrage, says that what he means by advocacy is that he will use interactive platforms such as social media and public forums to collect opinions and disseminate his assertions through different channels.
"My position is clear. I have only one goal - to create the conditions in society that will facilitate Hong Kong's long-term democratic development by every possible means," he said. "They include policy research, lobbying, public debates, and promotion by social media and other activities."