Professor Lau Siu-kai was born in Hong Kong in 1947. He received his Bachelor of Social Science (First Class Honour) degree from the University of Hong Kong in 1971, majoring in sociology and economics. In 1975, he was awarded Ph.D. in sociology by the University of Minnesota, specializing in social development and political sociology.
Professor Lau taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong since 1975 and was promoted to Chair Professor in Sociology in 1990. He retired from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2007 and was appointed Emeritus Professor of Sociology since then.
Professor Lau was appointed as Hong Kong Affairs Advisor by the Chinese Government in 1993-1997. He was appointed as Member of the Preliminary Working Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in 1993-1995. The same body appointed him as Member of the Preparatory Committee for the HKSAR in 1996-1997. In 2002-2012 Professor Lau was Head of the Central Policy Unit of the Hong Kong SAR Government. Professor Lau has been Member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference since 2003 and Vice-President of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong & Macao Studies since 2013.
Professor Lau’s research interests include social and political development, society and politics in Hong Kong and international politics. His publications include Society and Politics in Hong Kong (1982), The Ethos of the Hong Kong Chinese (with Kuan Hsin-chi) (1988), Hong Kong Politics in the Transitional Period (in Chinese)(1996), Governance and New Regime Building in Hong Kong Fifteen Years Since the Handover (in Chinese)(2012), Hong Kong Politics After the Handover (in Chinese)(2013), The Unique Democratic Path of Hong Kong (in Chinese)(2014), as well as articles in local, Mainland and international scholarly journals.
Professor Lau was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star (金紫荊星章) in 2012, and the Grand Bauhinia Medal (大紫荊勳章) in 2024.
- Political development of Hong Kong
- Social change in Hong Kong
- Comparative politics
- International politics
| 2017 | The Practice of “One Country, Two Systems”in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: The Commercial Press. |
| 2017 | 《回歸後香港的獨特政治形態》。香港：商務印書館。 |
| 2015 | 《一國兩制在香港的實踐》。香港：商務印書館。 |
| 2014 | 《香港的獨特民主路》。香港：商務印書館。 |
| 2012 | 《回歸十五年以來香港特區管治與新政權建設》。香港：商務印書館。 |
| 2007 | “In Search of a New Political Order.” In The First Decade: The Hong Kong SAR in Retrospective and Introspective Perspectives. |
| 2002 | “Tung Chee-hwa’s Governing Strategy: The Shortfall in Politics.” in The First Tung Chee-hwa Administration: The First Five Years of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region.” |
| 2000 | 「行政主導的政治體制：設想與現實」，載於《香港二十一世紀藍圖》 |
| 1998 | (with Hsin-chi Kuan) The Ethos of the Hong Kong Chinese. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press. |
| 1997 | “Decolonization a la Hong Kong: Britain’s Search for Governability and Exit with Glory.” The Journal of Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 35(2): 28-54″ |
| 1996 | 《過渡期香港政治》，香港：廣角鏡出版社。 |
| 1983 | “Social Change, Bureaucratic Rule, and Emergent Political Issues in Hong Kong.” World Politics 35: 544-562.” |
| 1982 | “Social Accommodation of Politics: The Case of the Young Hong Kong Workers.” The Journal of Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 20(2): 172-188″ |
| 1982 | Society and Politics in Hong Kong. Hong Kong. The Chinese University Press. |
| 1982 | “Development, Colonial Rule, and Intergroup Conflict in a Chinese Village in Hong Kong.” Human Organization, 41(2): 139-146″ |
| 1981 | “Chinese Familism in an Urban-Industrial Setting: The Case of Hong Kong.” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 43(4): 181-196.” |