Last modified: 3 February 2012

Asian Association for Public Administration (AAPA)
Annual Conference 2012


Administrative Innovation and Reform:
Local Culture and Traditions, International Learning and Influence

10-11 February 2012 (Friday & Saturday)

The Hong Kong Institute of Education
10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories,
Hong Kong, China

Introduction

With the formation of AAPA in January 2012 and the recent launch of AGPA (Asian Group of Public Administration) under the aegis of IIAS (International Institute of Administrative Sciences) (May 2011), Asian public administration (PA) has now become more prominently featured on the world map.

Until the recent decade, Asian PA had been at the receiving end of Western PA education, practices and systems. Asian PA reforms have long been dominated by Western-originated paradigms - such as New Public Management (NPM) since the 1990s and Development Administration in the 1970s.

More recently, Asian PA scholars have become interested in exploring and reflecting on Asian countries’ own administrative traditions and cultures and how these could provide a source of governance ethos and cultural vitality to the further development of PA in the national and regional context. One can immediately think of the Confucian influence over East Asia, the Hindu influence over India, Muslim influence over Indonesia and Malaysia, and Buddhist influence over Thailand. At the same time, those Asian nations previously subject to Western colonization have inherited Western institutional influence as well - viz British influence over the Sub-Continent and part of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, French influence over Vietnam and the Mekong Delta Region, Dutch influence over Indonesia, and Spanish and US influence over the Philippines.

Conference Theme

In reality, many Asian PA systems could be understood as "hybrids" of the past and present, and of the indigenous and the West. It is time for Asian PA to be given a more comprehensive understanding. In such a soul-searching and comparative process, it would also be opportune to examine whether and how contemporary Asian PA systems and practices today are in turn generating models (or semi-models) for other developing countries, many of which had been looking to the West for paradigm inspirations in the past but some of which are now turning their eyes to the East for alternative models and approaches.

Suggesting such possibilities does not mean Asia has solved its many PA and governance problems — corruption and the slow growth of democratic participation continue to be major challenges. However, instead of just looking at where Asian countries are deficient in, we should also identify how some Asian solutions have succeeded to deal with other problems in their path of modernization.

Panel Discussions

Panel 1: Culture and Bureaucratic Reforms in Asia
  1. The Impact of Societal Culture on Performance Management in East Asia: Evidence from a Comparative Survey
    Evan BERMAN (National Chengchi University, Taiwan), Xiaohu WANG (City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong),
    Chun Yuan WANG (Central Police University, Taiwan), Meghna SABHARWAL (University of Texas at Dallas, U.S.A.),
    Jonathan WEST (University of Miami, U.S.A.), Chung Yuang JAN (National Chengchi University, Taiwan),
    Yijia JING (Fudan University, Shanghai, China), Wei LIU (Renmin University of China, Beijing, China),
    Alex BRILLANTES (University of the Philippines, Philippines) and Chung An CHEN (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
  2. Bureaucratic Reform and State Capacity: The Case of South Korea
    Chonghee Han (Kwangwoon University, Korea) and Sunhyuk Kim (Korea University, Korea)
  3. In What Way is Confucianism Linked to Public Service Motivation?
    Betty Yung (The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong)
Panel 2: Rethinking Reform Strategies of Administrative Change in Asia and Europe since the Eighteenth Century
  1. Administrative Knowledge and Crisis Management. The Emergence of the First Civil Service in British India
    Sebastian Meurer (Heidelberg University, Germany)
  2. Discourse on the Sale of Offices in Early Modern German State Theory and the Chinese Model
    Susan Richter (Heidelberg University, Germany)
  3. The 'New Policy' and Bureaucratic Reform in Early Twentieth Century China
    Nicolas Schillinger (Heidelberg University, Germany)
Panel 3: The Diffusion of Bookstart Program in Taichung City
  1. Institutional Factors and Innovation Diffusion: A Case on the Diffusion of the Bookstart Program among Township Libraries in Taichung City, Taiwan
    Tsuey Ping Lee and Ching Heng Pan (National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan)
  2. The Effects of Distance on Competition and Collaboration among Public Libraries of Taichung: A Case Study of the Bookstart Program
    Hsin Chung Liao (Shih Hsin University, Taiwan) and Mei Chiang Shih (Tunghai University, Taiwan)
  3. The Relationship between Public Service Motivation and Policy Diffusion
    Milan Tung Wen Sun (National Chi Nan University) and Keng Ming Hsu (National University of Tainan, Taiwan)
  4. The Policy Evaluation of Bookstart: A Case Study in Taiwan Experience
    Jie Shin Lin and Yu Tung Chang (I-Shou University, Taiwan)
Panel 4: Policy Learning and Transfer in Asian Countries
  1. Combating Corruption in Four Asian Countries: Learning from Success and Failure
    Jon Quah (Anti-Corruption Consultant, Singapore)
  2. Management of the Size of Workforce in the Public Sector: Lessons from the Japanese Experience
    Masahiro Horie (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan)
  3. Environmental Sustainability and Government Procurement Reform in East Asia: Achievements and Outcomes
    David S. Jones (University of Brunei, Brunei)
  4. The Transferability of Singapore-style Public Administration: The Case of Public Housing Provision by Asian States
    Bryan Ho (University of Macau, Macao)
Panel 5: Public Administration Education in East Asia
  1. The Study of Public Administration in Hong Kong and Macao: Evolutionary Paths, Constraints and Opportunities
    Sonny Lo and Anthony B. L. Cheung (The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong)
  2. Public Administration Education in South Korea: Developed but Still Evolving as yet Incomplete Metamorphosis
    Pan Suk Kim (Yonsei University, Korea) and Seung Hwan Myeong (Inha University, Korea)
  3. Public Administration Education in Taiwan Re-examined: "Crisis of Legitimacy" or "Crisis of Orientation"?
    Milan Tung Wen Sun (National Chi Nan University, Taiwan) and Mei-Chiang Shih (Tunghai University, Taiwan)
Panel 6: Decentralization in China, Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines
  1. Excess of Decentralization: The Case of Health Reforms in Japan and the Philippines
    Yuri Hosono and Osamu Koike (Yokohama National University, Japan)
  2. Interlocal Cooperation and Amalgamation: The Philippine Experience Under a Decentralized Framework
    Alex BRILLANTES, Jr., Mr. Jose O. Tiu SONCO II, and Mr. Michael TUMANUT (University of the Philippines, Philippines)
  3. Understanding Big Bang Proliferation of Local Government in Indonesia
    Eko Prasojo (Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia)
  4. Determinants of Expenditure Decentralization: Evidence from China
    Alfred M. Wu and Wen Wang (City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)
 
 
 

Conference Programme

A preliminary conference programme can be downloaded here.

Conference Registration Fee

Full Registration fee: HKD400 (approx. USD50) covers the cost of the two-day conference, including book of abstract and full conference papers, sandwich lunch, and tea refreshments. This fee is waived for AAPA members who have to pay the annual membership fee of USD50 (approx. HKD400) if attending the Conference.

A Concession Rate of HKD100 will be offered for Local Students and Local Non-paper presenters, which would include the book of abstract, sandwich lunch and tea refreshments. Proof of student status, such as a valid Student Identity Card, is needed.
 

Registraton Form and Online Payment: CLICK HERE

Conference Dinner

Conference dinner will be held in the evening of 10 February 2012 (Saturday) on a self-paying basis, the dinner fee is HKD300 per person. Pre-payment is required, please indicate your participation on the above conference online registration form.

Transportation and Accommodation

All participants (including Paper Presenters) have to arrange and pay for their own transport and accommodation. The estimated hotel room rate per night in Sha Tin, a district close to the main campus of The Hong Kong Institute of Education, would range from HKD1000 to HKD1200.

Honouring the tradition of the Asian Forum on Public Management, AAPA's predecessor, the conference host will offer free accommodation to the core members of the previous Asian Forum on a 1-2 delegates per country basis. These individuals will be contacted by the Conference Secretariat separately.

Nearby Hotels in Shatin

Conference Venue Location

The Hong Kong Institute of Education
10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po
New Territories
Hong Kong

Please visit the following link for our Campus Map, Transportation Map and also public transport information.
http://www.ied.edu.hk/web/hkied_get_to_our_campus.php

Visa Requirement

For overseas participants, please refer to the Hong Kong Immigration Department's website and check if you need to apply for a Visit Visa or Entry Permit:
http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/hkvisas_4.htm

Conference Secretariat

The Centre for Governance and Citizenship at the Hong Kong Institute of Education will serve as the Conference Secretariat of the AAPA Conference 2012. Enquiries can be directed to Ms Lo Oi-yu at aapasec@ied.edu.hk, or by fax to (852)2948-6636.

About the AAPA

The Asian Association for Public Administration (AAPA) is established with the aim to expand and improve research and academic exchange on public administration and management in the Asian region. AAPA will keep friendly rapport with other organizations involved in public administration in the Asian region and beyond. Visit our website at http://www.ied.edu.hk/cgc/aapa/