Books

Legal Resistance under Authoritarianism: The Struggle for the Rule of Law in Hong Kong
(2025, Author)

Legal Resistance Under Authoritarianism: The Struggle for the Rule of Law in Hong Kong examines the decline of Hong Kong’s rule of law under China’s expanding authoritarian influence. While the imposition of the National Security Law in 2020 is seen as a turning point, the book argues that threats to Hong Kong’s rule of law began with the 1997 sovereignty transfer. Drawing on fieldwork and insights from civil society, Yan-ho Lai explores the tensions between lawyers, political authorities, and the state’s broader authoritarian project between the 2014 Umbrella Movement and the 2019 Anti-extradition Bill Movement. Highlighting resistance strategies employed by a critical minority of legal professionals, Lai reveals how their efforts played a crucial role in countering state encroachment. A compelling study of legal resistance, legal transplantation, and the rule of law, this book sheds light on China’s influence beyond its jurisdiction, and Hong Kong’s uniqueness in global anti-authoritarian struggles.

Hong Kong Politics after the National Security Law: Autocratization and Its Consequences (2025, contributor)

Ortmann, Lau and Chan, together with the contributors provide an innovative assessment of the impact of the National Security Law on Hong Kong politics. The law was introduced by the Chinese government in 2020 and has since fundamentally transformed the political landscape of the former British colony. The book explores how Hong Kong's transformation in governance, law, education, and civil society has amounted to one of the most significant episodes of autocratization in the world in recent years.

Contemporary Hong Kong Government and Politics (2024, contributor)

In the third edition of Contemporary Hong Kong Government and Politics, contributors provide the latest analyses in many aspects of Hong Kong’s government and politics, such as political institutions, mediating institutions, and political actors.

在夾縫中抵抗（2024, author）

English Title: Resistance through the Cracks: Understanding Hong Kong’s Rule by Law and Resistance in the Courtroom in Comparative Perspective

Protests, Pandemic, and Security Predicaments (2023, contributor)

This book examines how Asian countries have responded to urgent challenges against a backdrop of climactic political developments, as well as the effects of issue linkage in policy making.

Authoritarianism and Civil Society in Asia (2022, contributor)

This book represents a pioneering interdisciplinary effort to analyze Asian civil society under authoritarianism, a regime type that is re-appearing or deepening after several decades of increased political liberalization.

Varieties of Civil Society Across Asia (2024, contributor)

This book explores civil societies with distinct characteristics in Asian countries and regions to redefine the dynamic and interconnected formation that is Asia.

未竟的革命：香港人的民主運動與日常抵抗（2024, contributor）

Revolution Undone: Hongkongers' Democratic Movement and Everyday Resistance

Activism and Authoritarian Governance in Asia (2023, contributor)

This interdisciplinary book offers a new analysis of the concepts, spaces, and practices of activism that emerge under diverse authoritarian modes of governance in Asia.

破解香港的威權法治（2021, author）

English title: Unravelling Authoritarian Rule of Law in Hong Kong: From Post-Umbrella Resistance to the Anti-Extradition Bill Protests