Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.11, 2019

The Rule of Law Approach to Governance Innovation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area

(Abstract)

Shi Youqi and Chen Kexiang

Governance innovation is a relevant topic and an inevitable choice for the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. The achievement of governance innovation in the Greater Bay Area depends on the functioning and progress of the rule of law, which constitutes the logical premise, basic guarantee, key engine and realization path of governance innovation in the area. At the same time, the staged division of governance innovation, the innovation and application of governance rules, the innovation of governance models and the complex diversity of governance disputes have put forward new requirements for the rule of law in the Greater Bay Area. In responding to the rule of law needs of its governance innovation, we should take the position of expanding the system of legal norms and realize the coordinated application of soft and hard law by pushing forward the synchronous development of rule of law construction in both space and time; should build a legal governance model of pluralistic governance, including the legalization of governance structure, the normalization of governance methods, the shaping of procedural systems, and the construction of governance mechanisms; and should explore the rule of law approach to governance innovation in the Greater Bay Area in such fields as developing a diverse system of legal relief that links up the public and the private. Theoretical innovation in both jurisprudence and the rule of law and innovation in the discipline of law can lead to the deepening of governance innovation, guide innovation in the rule of law, and realize a benign interaction between governance innovation and the rule of law in the Greater Bay Area.