The role of citizens' political participation in Hong Kong and SingaporeBoth Hong Kong and Singapore are city-states that have not traditionally had widespread political participation, instead Political decisions were left to a small group of leaders. Historical factors were critical in determining the role of political participation in both city-states. Hong Kong's history of colonial rule and the strength of the People's Action Party (PAP) in Singapore have helped keep broad citizen participation in government to a minimum. After World War II, Hong Kong remained a colony of England and its government remained under colonial rule. Unlike other Asian nations such as Singapore, there was no major anti-colonial movement and the colonial government was insulated from political pressure because many residents and immigrants from China appreciated the trading opportunities that Hong Kong had to offer and feared that if England gave up to control. of Hong Kong, the small state would be invaded from the north by the newly founded and expansionist communist China. In the years immediately following 1949, China was expanding, conquering Tibet and Mongolia; The feeling of insecurity in Hong Kong was very real. In the following years the colonial government established the Legislative Council and the Executive Council of Hong Kong, and the colonial government appointed eminent and respected local Chinese citizens to serve on these bodies. These councils, while far from democratic, ensured that Chinese citizens at least had representatives to express their pleasure or displeasure with the colonial administration. But these representatives had no real power and served only at the pleasure of the colonial administration. The government of Hong Kong was administered and managed by British Foreign Service officers who flocked to Hong Kong, the last vestige of the British Empire. In Hong Kong it was really the British who ruled and not the Chinese public. In Singapore, after the end of World War II, a single political party came to power, the People's Action Party, a strongly anti-colonial left-wing party. composed of more moderate communists and socialists. After independence, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his allies succeeded in moving the party away from communism and towards a more moderate position. The People's Action Party tolerated dissent and other political parties because Lee Kuan Yew felt he had a solid political base. The PAP has dominated politics to such an extent that no other political party has emerged in Singapore as a strong force. In Singapore's democratic elections, the PAP has always won with a large majority. The hardest blow came to the PAP in 1984, when the opposition won