61-599: The Hong Kong Civic Association is one of the longest-existing political organisations in Hong Kong. Established in 1954 by a group of teachers, professionals and businessmen, the Civic Association was one of the two semi-political parties to participate in the Urban Council elections since the 1950s, alongside Reform Club of Hong Kong . They were the only two organisations closest to the opposition parties dominated in
122-422: A 50–50 split between elected and appointed Legislative Councillors plus a majority of elected seats on a "lower house" Urban Council with expanded powers. Their demands were rejected by London without explanation, their demands were not achieved until 40 years later in the 1990s. Starting from the late 1960s, the membership of the Civic Association decreased and its ability to monopolise Urban Council elections with
183-641: A district magnitude of 2 ("binomial system"). The binomial system was instituted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in its amendment to Annex 2 of the Basic Law on 30 March 2021. Geographical constituencies were first introduced in Hong Kong's first legislative election with direct elections in 1991 . The electoral system and boundaries of GCs have since changed: ( Largest remainder method : Hare quota ) Between 1998 and 2016,
244-509: A drop in the share of directly elected representatives from 50% to 22% and an increase in the overall number of seats from 70 to 90, along with the establishment of a screening committee to vet candidates. The original two groups (GCs and FCs) had constitutional significance. Government bills requires a simple majority of the council for passage, whereas private member bills requires simple majorities in two discrete divisions of geographical members and functional members for passage. Therefore,
305-534: A member is constitutionally four years except for the first term (1998 to 2000) which was set to be two years according to Article 69 of the Basic Law . The 6th Legislative Council 's term of office of over five years from 2016 is in direct violation of Article 69 of the Basic Law. In both the 2008 and 2004 elections, 30 members were directly elected by universal suffrage from geographical constituencies (GCs) and 30 were elected from functional constituencies (FCs). In
366-530: Is a group of political parties operating together in parliament . Oftentimes, party coalitions are formed after elections have taken place and no party has clearly won a majority seat in parliament (e.g. the AAP-Congress Government in Delhi ). Other coalitions are formed prior to elections and are effectively agreements between two or more parties to run jointly in elections and to pursue similar agendas (e.g.
427-680: Is a heterogenous parliamentary group composed of elected officials from political parties of differing ideologies (or independent of any party) who are not numerous enough to form groups on their own. A political group is a group composed of multiple political parties or independents of aligned ideologies. A labour union (or trade union) is a political organization formed to promote the interests of workers. Labour unions have various roles in modern politics, including: Unlike other political organizations, labor unions do not directly participate in elections, although they may campaign for parties and politicians supporting their positions. Labour unionization
488-759: Is a way for workers to maintain unity and preserve their rights. Often, major corporations antagonize the principle of labor unionization since it results in heavier employment regulations which restrict the powers of big business to fire workers at will, effectively causing economic difficulties for such companies. Legislative Council of Hong Kong High Court District Court Magistrates' Court Special courts and tribunals: Chief Executive Elections Legislative elections District council elections Consular missions in Hong Kong Hong Kong–China relations Hong Kong–Taiwan relations Download coordinates as: The Legislative Council of
549-402: Is not concentrated in one party and that parties have to consider the opinion of the general public in order to retain power by winning elections. Most two-party systems are technically multiparty systems but all power is effectively concentrated amongst two parties or coalitions. Examples of two-party systems are: Another type of political organization is the party coalition. A party coalition
610-519: The 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests , the National People's Congress disqualified several opposition councillors and initiated an electoral overhaul in 2021. The current Legislative Council consists of three groups of constituencies— geographical constituencies (GCs), functional constituencies (FCs), and Election Committee constituencies —and has been dominated by the pro-Beijing camp since an opposition walkout in 2020. The 2021 changes resulted in
671-556: The District Councillors and elected by all registered electorates. The 2014 Hong Kong electoral reform proposal, which suggested the electoral method of the Legislative Council remain unchanged, was vetoed in 2015, after a massive occupation protest demanding universal suffrage — often dubbed the " Umbrella Revolution " — broke out in 2014. The 2016 New Territories East by-election and September general election saw
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#1733086350137732-808: The National Democratic Alliance in India, and the Liberal/National Coalition in Australia). The electoral thresholds for multi-party alliances are set differently in many countries depending on the number of parties. Parliamentary groups are groups of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties, also called caucus in the United States Congress and the Parliament of Canada . A technical group or mixed group
793-748: The Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) in Shenzhen, under the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China . The Provisional Legislative Council, seen as unconstitutional by the British authorities and boycotted by most pro-democracy legislators , was in operation from 25 January 1997 to 30 June 1998 and held its meetings in Shenzhen until 30 June 1997, when the PLC moved to Hong Kong and replaced
854-685: The government's constitutional reform proposal became the first and only constitutional move to have been passed by the Legislative Council in the SAR era with the support of the Democratic Party after the Beijing government accepted the modified package as presented by the party, which increased the composition of the Legislative Council from 60 to 70 seats; adding five seats in the directly elected geographical constituencies and five new District Council (Second) functional constituency seats which are nominated by
915-419: The president of the Legislative Council being ranked first. Members who did not serve throughout the term are italicised . Supplementary members elected in by-elections are listed below. Key to changes since legislative election: The Geographical Constituency (GC) seats are returned by universal suffrage . 20 seats of the Legislative Council are returned by GCs through single non-transferable vote with
976-612: The rise of localist tide where a number of pro-independence candidates were elected to the council. In November, in Beijing's fifth interpretation of the Basic Law since the 1997 handover, the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) disqualified two pro-independence legislators from assuming public office pursuant to Article 104 . Four more pro-democracy and localist legislators were unseated in subsequent court cases. Returning officers also disqualified certain candidates who had advocated for Hong Kong self-determination, with or without option for independence, from running in
1037-527: The 1997 handover. Note: Each voter got two votes in the 1991 Election. Political organisations A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties , non-governmental organizations , and special interest advocacy groups . Political organizations are those engaged in political activities (e.g., lobbying , community organizing , campaign advertising , etc.) aimed at achieving clearly-defined political goals, which typically benefit
1098-460: The 2000 election, 24 were directly elected, six elected from an 800-member electoral college known as the Election Committee of Hong Kong , and 30 elected from FCs. Since the 2004 election, all the seats are equally divided between geographical and functional constituencies. According to The Basic Law, while the method for forming the Legislative Council shall be specified in accordance with
1159-564: The Beijing government resolved to set up an alternative legislative council in preparation for the return of Hong Kong sovereignty from Britain to China. Before the 1997 handover of Hong Kong , rather than working through the 1995 elected colonial legislature , the government of China, through the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), unilaterally established, in 1996,
1220-683: The Beijing-controlled Election Committee and 30 seats would remain trade-based functional constituencies, reducing the proportion of directly elected seats from 50% to 22%. Additionally all candidates must now be approved by the unelected HKSAR government via the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee. This has led to all parties that are not pro-Beijing declining to run in the elections, as it is now reasonable to assume that any pro-democracy candidates fielded that might be electable will be disqualified prior to
1281-566: The Chamber, major conference rooms, and communal facilities such as library, cafeteria and education facilities. The range of education facilities for visit by the public includes video corner, visitors' sharing area, exhibition area, children's corner, viewing gallery and access corridors, memory lane, education activities rooms and education galleries. The high block, which will be named as the Office Block, mainly houses offices for members and staff of
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#17330863501371342-1023: The French Mission Building), still standing at Government Hill. From 1848 to 1954 (interrupted by renovation in 1928-9 and the Japanese occupation in 1941–5), it was housed on the upper floor of the Colonial Secretariat Building, Lower Albert Road, replaced in 1957 by the Annex to the Central Government Offices Main Wing, on the same site. In 1985, LegCo moved down to the nearby Old Supreme Court building ( 22°16′52″N 114°09′36″E / 22.280996°N 114.160116°E / 22.280996; 114.160116 ) in Central Hong Kong where it remained until November 2011. It took up residence in its present accommodation at
1403-431: The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region , colloquially known as LegCo , is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong . It sits under China's " one country, two systems " constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong's hybrid representative democracy , though popular representation in the legislature has diminished significantly in recent years, along with its political diversity. The functions of
1464-652: The Legislative Block of the Central Government Complex, Tamar in December 2011. Unlike many other former and current Commonwealth legislatures, the Hong Kong Legislative Council does not have a ceremonial mace placed in its chambers. However, the high courts of Hong Kong use a mace to open sessions, and it represents the authority and powers of the court. To provide a long-term solution to
1525-611: The Legislative Council Secretariat. Officially opened on 1 August 2011, administrative staff had already taken occupation on 15 January 2011. Under the 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes initiated by the National People's Congress , the Legislative Council is now composed of 90 members returned from 3 constituencies: the Election Committee Constituency , Functional Constituencies and Geographical Constituencies by popular vote. The term of office of
1586-665: The Legislative Council are to enact, amend or repeal laws; examine and approve budgets, taxation and public expenditure; and raise questions on the work of the government. In addition, the Legislative Council also has the power to endorse the appointment and removal of the judges of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and the Chief Judge of the High Court , as well as the power to impeach the Chief Executive of Hong Kong . Following
1647-464: The Legislative Council to advise the Governor of Hong Kong 's administration. The council had four official members including the governor who was president of the council when it was first established. The Letters Patent of 1888, which replaced the 1843 charter, added the significant words "and consent" after the words "with the advice". The Legislative Council was initially set up as the advisory body to
1708-482: The Legislative Council. The reform would allow a new Candidate Eligibility Review Committee, composed entirely of principal officials from the Hong Kong government, to vet candidates for the Legislative Council and would increase its total number of seats from 70 to 90. However, the seats that were directly elected would be reduced from 35 to 20, the five directly elected District Council (Second) seats would also be removed, while an additional 40 seats would be elected by
1769-841: The Reform Club eroded. In 1975 the association claimed a membership of 10,000. Hilton Cheong-Leen was also the Chairman of the Urban Council in the 1980s and the first elected Urban Council member appointed to the Legislative Council. In 1987, the Association held 4 seats in the Legislative Council ; 4 seats in Urban Council; 1 seat in Regional Council ; 18 seats in the district boards , in total 27 seats. The association formed an alliance with Maria Tam 's Progressive Hong Kong Society since
1830-418: The adequacy of hospitals and rentals. The association also drew attention to constitutional issues, demanding greater power of the Urban Council in education and health matters, and also elected representatives in the Legislative Council and Executive Council . However the association refrained from calling for self-government and independence, a political stance it regarded as the major demarcation between
1891-586: The association and the radical groups, such as the United Nations Association of Hong Kong . it argued that any "radical change" would threaten Hong Kong's stability. The Civic Association was founded on 26 October 1954 in Hong Kong by Brother Brigant Cassian , who was a French-born religious educator and also the founder of the Hong Kong Teachers' Association. It was one of the civil organisations to strive for constitutional reform as proposed by
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1952-498: The directly elected legislators (mainly from the GCs) had minimal influence over government policy and legislative agenda. The historical Legislative Council of Hong Kong in the British colonial era was created under the 1843 Charter as an advisory council to the Governor . The authority of the colonial legislature expanded throughout its history. A parallel Provisional Legislative Council
2013-764: The dissolution of District Council (First) and District Council (Second) FCs. Three existing FCs were reconstituted: the Information Technology FC reorganised as the Technology & Innovation FC ; the Medical FC and Health Services FC combined to form the Medical and Health Services FC. Two new FCs were established, namely the Commercial (Third) and the HKSAR Deputies to the National People's Congress, HKSAR Members of
2074-580: The elected legislature from the 1997 handover of Hong Kong until the 1998 Hong Kong legislative election . Since 2000, the terms of the Legislative Council have been four years, with the exception of the 6th Legislative Council . The current HKSAR Legislative Council was established on 1 October 1998 under the Hong Kong Basic Law . The first meeting of the council was held in July of the same year. Five subsequent Legislative Council elections have been held —
2135-461: The election. In this Legislative Council, 59 of the 90 members elected in the 2021 election were elected for the first time, or were not members of the last Legislative Council . All members are listed by seniority according to the year of the beginning of consecutive service then the order of swearing in (i.e. the number of strokes in the traditional characters of names in Chinese per precedent) with
2196-476: The following by-elections; the government expressed support for such decisions. The 2019 amendment of the extradition bill caused an historic political upheaval, where intensive protests erupted throughout the city in the latter half of the year, including the storming of the Legislative Council Complex on the 22nd anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong on 1 July. In July 2020, in light of
2257-444: The government to block Jimmy Lai from hiring Tim Owen as his defense lawyer. In September 2023, a report found that at least 66% of all bills that were passed were done with less than half of all Legislative Council members present, below the 50% attendance threshold for a quorum. The first meetings of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, from 1844 to 1846, were likely convened in the residence of Governor Pottinger (later to be
2318-616: The governor, and for most of the time, consisted half of official members, who were the government officials seated in the council, and half of unofficial members who were appointed by the Governor . After the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed on 19 December 1984 (in which the United Kingdom agreed to the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997), the Hong Kong government decided to start
2379-436: The head of the association. Cheong-Leen was determined to change Hong Kong's "colonial museum piece" status. In 1960, the association formed a coalition with the Reform Club, led by Peter Lee Chung-yin, co-founder of the Civic Association and also Secretary-General of the association between 1958 and 1964. The Civic Reform Coalition sent a delegate to London to press the British government for constitutional reform. They demanded
2440-403: The interests of their members. While parties are one type of political organization that may engage in some or all of those activities, they are distinct in that they typically focus on supporting candidates for public office, winning elections and controlling government . The most well-known type of political organization is the political party . Political parties are directly involved in
2501-519: The largest party for the first time and has since held its superior status. Due to the indirectly elected trade-based functional constituencies which largely favour business interests — represented by the Liberal Party and subsequently the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA) — the pro-Beijing camp has been able to keep the majority in the legislature despite receiving fewer votes than
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2562-447: The last years of the colonial rule. The People's Republic of China government did not agree with reforms to the Legislative Council enacted by the last Governor Chris Patten in 1994. Therefore, it withdrew the previous so-called "through-train" policy that would have allowed for members elected to the colonial Legislative Council automatically becoming members of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) legislature. Instead,
2623-402: The late 1980s, the Civic Association collaborated with Maria Tam 's Progressive Hong Kong Society and subsequently the pro-business conservative Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong . It has become part of the pro-Beijing camp since the 1990s and has not been active in the recent years. Members mostly consisting of teachers and some professionals and businessmen, the Civic Association
2684-423: The latter's establishment in 1985. In the 1988 District Board elections , the association cooperated with Progressive Hong Kong Society, and subsequently the conservative pro-business Liberal Democratic Federation of Hong Kong in the 1991 elections. It was absorbed into the Beijing government's " United Front " on the eve of the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in the 1990s. It has remained low-profile after
2745-437: The legislature with virtually no opposition. On 27 January 2021, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping said that Hong Kong could only maintain its long-term stability and security by ensuring "patriots governing Hong Kong" when he reviewed a work report delivered by Carrie Lam . In March 2021, China's National People's Congress passed a resolution that authorised an overhaul of Hong Kong's electoral system , including that of
2806-557: The most recent being held on 4 September 2016 . The Democratic Party had briefly held the largest-party status in the early years of the SAR period, but its support was slowly eaten away by its pro-democracy allies such as The Frontier and later the Civic Party . In the 2004 election , the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) surpassed the Democrats as
2867-524: The political process both through elections and by forming their own political parties as they please. Examples of multi-party systems are: In single-party systems , one political party exercises control over the government. Unlike under other systems, single-party systems do not necessarily extend democratic privileges to the citizens. This means that citizens have little say regarding political subjects. Examples of single-party systems are: Two-party systems are similar to multi-party systems in that power
2928-420: The political processes of countries with party systems, of which there are several types. Some of the most common types are multi-party systems , single party dictatorships , and two party systems . In multi-party systems such as India, Pakistan, etc., there is no restriction on the number of parties allowed to be in operation at any given time. Under these types of systems, people are free to participate in
2989-437: The post-war colonial period before the expansion of the franchise in the 1980s. Although the Civic Association petitioned for constitutional reforms in the 1960s, it was considered relatively centrist and conservative to its counterpart. In the 1980s, its chairman Hilton Cheong-Leen became the first Chinese chairman of the Urban Council and member of the Legislative Council through the Urban Council electoral college . In
3050-408: The principle of gradual and orderly progress, the ultimate aim is to elect all Council members by universal suffrage ( Article 68 of The Basic Law of Hong Kong ). However, under the 2021 overhaul, the seats that were directly elected would be reduced from 35 back down to 20, the five directly elected District Council (Second) seats would also be removed, while an additional 40 seats would be elected by
3111-610: The pro-Beijing Election Committee and 30 seats would remain trade-based functional constituencies. Every candidate must have nominations from each of the five sectors in the Election Committee. The seventh Legislative Council term, beginning in January 2022, made changes where lawmakers' names were replaced with "a member" or "members" in meeting minutes, a change which the Hong Kong Journalists Association said
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#17330863501373172-457: The pro-democracy bloc in the direct elections. Article 68 of the Hong Kong Basic Law states that the ultimate aim is the election of all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage . This and a similar article dealing with election of the Chief Executive have made universal suffrage for the council and the Chief Executive a dominant issue in Hong Kong politics. In 2010,
3233-562: The pro-democrats' attempt to seize the majority of the Legislative Council in the midst of the largely unpopular Carrie Lam government , the government postponed the seventh general election , citing the COVID-19 spike . At variance with the four-year term set out in the Basic Law, the NPCSC decided in August that the sitting Legislative Council should continue with its duties for at least one year; however,
3294-576: The process of democratisation based on the consultative document, Green Paper: the Further Development of Representative Government in Hong Kong on 18 July 1984. The first elections to the Council were held in 1985 , followed by the first direct elections of the Legislative Council held in 1991. The Legislative Council became a fully elected legislature for the first time in 1995 and extensively expanded its functions and organisations throughout
3355-685: The space shortage problem facing both the Government and the Legislative Council, the Government commissioned the Tamar Development for the design and construction of the Central Government Complex , the Legislative Council Complex and other ancillary facilities in 2008. The Legislative Council Complex comprises a low block and a high block: the low block, which will be named the Council Block, mainly houses conference facilities including
3416-449: The term of the upcoming LegCo would remain four years. In a November decision, the NPCSC disqualified LegCo members on grounds such as Hong Kong independence, Chinese sovereignty, and solicitation of foreign intervention, impacting four sitting legislators whose candidacies had been invalidated in the postponed election. After the disqualification, the 15 remaining pro-democracy legislators announced their resignation in protest , leaving
3477-512: The then Governor Mark Aitchison Young in 1946. It sent the petition endorsed by 406 organisations with half a million affiliated members. It began to contest in the Urban Council since the 1956 Urban Council election . They included political reform in their campaign platform and won 2 of the 6 seats. In the 1950s, its representation increased from two to eight seats in the Urban Council. After Cassian died in 1957 and three conservative expatriate leaders resigned in 1959, Hilton Cheong-Leen became
3538-569: The voting system adopted in GCs is a system of party-list proportional representation , with seats allocated by the largest remainder method using the Hare quota as the quota for election. Under the 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes , 28 functional constituencies (FC) return 30 members. The Labour Functional Constituency returns three members by block voting . The other FCs return one member each with first-past-the-post voting . The 2021 electoral reform saw
3599-486: Was negative and that "One one hand, that would make it more difficult for the public to hold lawmakers accountable, and therefore affect how voters may vote." In April 2023, a survey found that half of Hongkongers were unable to name any serving lawmaker, with another 12% naming somebody not a current lawmaker. In May 2023, the Legislative Council voted with 100% approval to let the chief executive restrict overseas lawyers from national security cases, following attempts by
3660-513: Was put in place by China from 1996 to 1998 to pass laws in anticipation of the Hong Kong handover. The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 for the first time as a colonial legislature under British rule. Hong Kong's first constitution, in the form of Queen Victoria 's letters patent , issued on 27 June 1843 and titled the Charter of the Colony of Hong Kong , authorised the establishment of
3721-472: Was seen as a predominantly Chinese, centrist and conservative political group compared to the Reform Club of Hong Kong , its counterpart in the Urban Council before the 1980s. At its foundation, the objectives of the associations were: The Civic Association claimed to promote "stability, prosperity and progress" in its electoral slogan. It focused more on social and livelihood issues such as cost of living
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