British administrative practices are presented as an inheritance with both advantages and drawbacks. Dr. Clarke's tentative understanding is that absorbing Hong Kong's civil service gave Chinese officials additional techniques alongside those they already used. In his description, they then had two sets of rules to draw on. Whether China's leadership welcomed these innovations is left uncertain, and the recollection's source is unnamed.
Notable Point · 2:16:44-2:18:08
Inherited civil-service rules and administrative power
A qualified recollection about Hong Kong raises the question of how inherited administrative rules expand officials' options.