Published in 1998, Dr. Ku invites readers to reconsider the contemporary form of politics in terms of the cultural and narrative logics of public discourse. A narrative theory of public credibility is empirically applied through analysis of the narrative contexts surrounding the controversy over governor Patten's reform proposals in Hong Kong from 1992-1994.

1. Introduction 2. Theoretical Approaches to the Public Sphere 3. Narratives and Politics 4. Methodology 5. Historical Development of the Political Public Sphere in Hong Kong 6. Political-Cultural Context in the Early 1990s 10. The Final Sino-British Battle Over Democratic Reform (1992-94) 8. Discursive Formation (I): Democracy, Romanticism and Cynicism 9. Discursive Formation (II): Stability and Comic-Realism 10. The Changing Public in the Political Process 11. The Romance to Strike Back? 12. Conclusion.