Twenty years after 1997, political parties in Hong Kong are still underdeveloped. The hybrid regime has posed major constraints, as there are no governing parties, and democratic development is slow. The parties have also found it difficult to respond to value changes toward radicalization, a new political identity, and post-materialism, with support shifting to new movement groups.

Similar to its colonial predecessor, the post-colonial Hong Kong state relies on its business allies to mediate state-society relations. Nevertheless, because of the erosion of the intermediary role of business elites, the state-business alliance now struggles to accommodate the rising challenges of civil society. The case of Hong Kong offers an interesting case study to the literature on hybrid regimes.