Course Code : POL2109

Course Title : Understanding Politics & Policy

Offering : Semester B, 2017/18
Semester
Credit Units : 3
Course Duration : One Semester
Course : Cheung, Chor-yung, PhD
Leader/Instructor
Email: scccy@cityu.edu.hk Office: B7323, Tel: 9702
Yeung Kin Man
Academic Building
(AC1)

Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs)

1. Identify the basic concepts, issues, and, where appropriate, institutions in politics,
ethics, policy and public management
2. Apply foundational knowledge in politics, ethics, policy and public management to
critically examine classical or real-life cases in these areas
3. Recognize some key challenges in politics, policy and public management in Hong
Kong, China/the region and the world
4. Demonstrate the attitude or ability to discover possible solutions to the challenges
mentioned in CILO 3 above
Assessment Tasks
Coursework : 100%
Class Discussion & Event Participation 15%
Group Presentation 15%
Week 13 In-Class Test 35%
Term Paper (with 2,000 words) 35%

Academic Honesty
Academic honesty is central to the conduct of academic work. Students are expected to
present their own work, give proper acknowledgement of other’s work, and honestly report
findings obtained.

Academic dishonesty is regarded as a serious offence in the University. Any related offence
can lead to disciplinary action with a penalty including expulsion from the University and
debarment from re-admission.

Department of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong Page 1

 Extracted from Rules on Academic Honesty, City University of Hong Kong
http://www.cityu.edu.hk/provost/academic_honesty/rules_on_academic_honesty.htm
Minimum Requirement for Passing the Course
(For POL courses with 100% coursework): Students are required to obtain at least 40% of the
coursework marks (i.e. at least grade “D”) to pass the course.

Schedule (All sessions, except otherwise specified, will be held from 0900-
1150 at LT-8, Yeung Kin Man Academic Building [AC1])
Lecture notes, with suggested readings, for each lecture will be available on
Canvas before the delivery of the lecture
Week Lecture Topic In-Class Activity
Week 1 The Nature of Politics: the Art of 2.5-hour Lecture
(15/01) the Possible? (Part I) 0.5-hour Class Discussion
Week 2 The Nature of Politics: the Art of 2.5-hour Lecture
(22/01) the Possible? (Part II) 0.5-hour Class Discussion
Ethics & Politics: The Good vs.
Freedom (Part I)
Week 3 Ethics & Politics: The Good vs. 2-hour Lecture
(29/01) Freedom (Part II) 1-hour Group Formation & Class
Discussion
Week 4 Public Policy: Political Decisions 2.5-hour Lecture
(05/02) Addressing the Problems of the 0.5-hour Class Discussion
Collective? (Part I)
Week 5 Public Policy: Political Decisions 2.5-hour Lecture
(12/02) Addressing the Problems of the 0.5-hour Class Discussion
Collective? (Part II) and
Managing the Public Sector:
Beyond Private Interests? (Part I)
Week 6 Managing the Public Sector: 2.5-hour Lecture
(26/02) Beyond Private Interests? (Part II) 0.5-hour Class Discussion
Week 7 Government, Politics & Ethics: 2.5-hour Lecture
(05/03) Local, National & Global Challenges 0.5-hour Class Discussion
The Crisis of Governance: How
Politics Impacts on Policy &
Management
Week 8 The Crisis of Governance: How 2.5-hour Lecture
(12/03) Politics Impacts on Policy & 0.5-hour Class Discussion
Management (Part I)
Week 9 Guest Lecture: 1.5-2 hours Guest Lecture with Q & A
(Thursday, “Professional Policing and Political Session
22/03) Challenges: the Case of Hong Time: 1930-2100

Department of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong Page 2

 Kong” Venue: LT-5, Yeung Kin Man Academic
Speaker: Building (AC1)
Ms Winnie Chiu Wai-yin
Deputy Commissioner of Police
(Management)
Hong Kong Police Force
Week 10 The Crisis of Governance: How 1-hour Lecture
(26/03) Politics Impacts on Policy & 2-hour Class Consultation on Group
Management (Part II) Presentation Topics (Individual Group
should make appointment in advance for
a 30-minute time slot for this)
Week 10a Guest Lecture: Venue: 2614, AC2
(27/03) “My participation in LegCo Time: 4.30-6.00pm
elections and the role of media in Date: Tuesday, 27 March 2018
election campaign”
Speaker: Prof. Edward Yiu Chung-
yim
Former LegCo member and
candidate of Kowloon West
Week 11 Group Presentations Topic 1: “The ‘One Country, Two Systems’
(09/04) experience in Hong Kong has failed the
test of the art of the possible.” Do you
agree? Why?
Topic 2: “The China Model is superior to
the democratic model?” To what extent
do you support this claim?
Topic 3: “In a Holy War, the end justifies
the mean so long as the mean is
effective.” Do you agree and why?
Week 12 Group Presentations Topic 4: “The Police can never be
(16/04) politically neutral when dealing with the
Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong.” Do
you agree? Why?
Topic 5: “Efficiency is less important than
accountability when it comes to public
management.” To what extent do you
agree with this and why?
Topic 6: “Government policy always
favours the powerful. Since a democracy
is ruled by the majority, policies in a
democracy are biased against the rich
people.” Do you support this statement?
Why?

Department of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong Page 3

 Week 13 In-Class Open Book Test (35%)
(23/04)

Group Presentations, Individual Term Papers & Other Course Activities

Group Presentations (15%)
Students will need to form 6 groups in Week 3 with 4 members each for the group
presentations in Weeks 11 and 12 respectively.

Each presentation group shall make a presentation of about 30-35 minutes on the topic,
which will be followed by a 15-20 minutes open class discussion. A copy (hard or soft) of your
presentation file must reach the course instructor before your group presentation.

Members’ performance in the presentation will be assessed both individually (for the quality
of arguments and the relevance of the supporting facts, etc.) and collectively (e.g. for team
work and responding to questions and comments).

Individual Term Papers (35%)

Each student is required to choose one group presentation topic above to write a term paper
of up to 2,000 words (including a bibliography and end/foot notes). The topic chosen must be
different from the one he/she has chosen for the class presentation.

Students could argue for or against the topic, provided that the arguments are supported by
concrete empirical examples found in real-life politics and policy.

Students are strongly encouraged to have prior discussion on issues related to the group
presentation topics and the term papers individually or as a group with the course
instructor after class. Prior appointments would help.

Deadline for individual term paper submission: 11.59pm, Monday, 30 April 2018
Method of submission: via Canvas, using Word file
Late submission, unless under extenuating circumstances and with permission from the
Course Leader, will not be accepted.

Class Discussion & Other Course Activities (15%)

The more a student participates in class discussion and course activities, the more bonus
marks will be awarded to him/her, provided that his/her views and participation are
supported by good logic, observations and relevant facts.

Two guest lectures, one in Week 9 and one in Week 10, will be organized for the
enhancement of student learning for this course.

Participation in these activities are mandatory and absence without extenuating

circumstances will be penalized.

Department of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong Page 4

 Each presentation group is required to come up with three questions for each guest lecturer
in relation to the lecture topic.

Your questions should reach the Course Instructor via emails one week before the respective
guest lectures. You will be further briefed on this in class prior to the activities.

The quality of the questions and members’ performance (e.g. asking the questions or giving
good comments to the guest speaker during the guest lecture) will be assessed.

Suggested Readings
Andrew Heywood, Politics, 2nd or later editions, Palgrave, 2002
Michael J. Sandel, Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?, Penguin Books, 2009
Thomas A. Birkland, An Introduction to the Policy Process, 4th Edition, Routledge, 2016
Carolyn J. Hill & Laurence E. Lynn, Jr., Public Management: Thinking and Acting in Three Dimensions,
2nd Edition, Sage, 2016

Department of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong Page 5