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The 2002 Hong Kong Chief Executive election was to select the second term of the Chief Executive (CE) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Incumbent Tung Chee-hwa was nominated by the 800-member Election Committee (EC) without competition. [1]
The Election Committee (EC) was responsible for electing the Chief Executive (CE). Before the Chief Executive election, a by-election was held on 6 January 2002 to fill the four vacancies in the Election Committee.
Incumbent Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa was supported by Chinese leaders for his re-election as early as 2001. Speaking in Myanmar in December 2001, Chinese paramount leader Jiang Zemin stated, "I wish that Mr. Tung will get elected. I am convinced he will get elected." Given the support and certainty of Tung's re-election, many observers argued that not only would it have been futile to oppose Tung or to support another candidate potentially harmful to their business interests in Hong Kong and mainland China. [2] Jiang was previously asked by Sharon Cheung, a Hong Kong journalist, in October 2001 whether Beijing has appointed Tung as the next Chief Executive, which Jiang replied by condemning Cheung "too simple, sometimes naïve".
Tung started his campaign in 2001 by setting up an office in the Central District and constructing a website to release news of his campaign. His campaign manager like Leung Chun-ying, the Convenor of the Unofficial Members of the Executive Council tried to project a more communicative and high-tech image of Tung. [3]
The nomination period lasted for two weeks from 15 to 28 February 2002. On 19 February, only four days after the nomination period opened the Asian Wall Street Journal first reported Tung's de facto victory, as more than 695 Election Committee members had nominated him for a second term, which made it mathematically impossible for anyone else to nominated as the threshold of required for nomination was 100 members. [2] At the end of the nomination period, Tung garnered 712 nominations from the Election Committee and thus was the only validly nominated candidate with the boycott of the pro-democracy camp. [1]
The pro-democracy camp argued that the electoral process was deliberately designed to obstruct any challenge to Tung. Although there were voices that pro-democrats might have made it possible to nominate an alternative candidate, legislator and The Frontier chairperson Emily Lau was against supporting an alternative candidate: "As it is not a fair, open and democratic election, we should not participate in it and give it any legitimacy." Lau formed the Coalition Against Second Term (CAST) to draw attention to the flawed process of choosing the Chief Executive, the lack of competition and the need for real democracy. [2]
| Candidate | Born | Party | Most recent position | Campaign | Nominations received | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Tung Chee-hwa 董建華 | 7 July 1937 (age 64) | Nonpartisan (Pro-Beijing) | Chief Executive of Hong Kong (1997–) | Announced: 13 December 2001 Nominated: 19 February 2002 | 714 / 800 (89%) | |
While the election date was originally set on 24 March 2002, Tung was declared re-elected on 28 February 2002, [4] and thus the election was concluded. [5] Tung was also considered as the only Chief Executive hand-picked in high-profile by the Chinese Government, [6] until the 2022 election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Tung Chee-hwa | Uncontested | |||
| Registered electors | 800 | ||||
In his second term, Tung Chee-hwa increasingly faced difficult challenge of governing without a democratic mandate. With the SARS epidemics and the controversies over the Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 in 2003 drew a massive anti-government protest on 1 July 2003. As Jiang Zemin retired from as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (de facto leader), Tung gradually lost his main patron in Beijing and eventually stepped down in 2005. [7]
Tung Chee-hwa is a Hong Kong businessman and politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He served as a vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) between 2005 and 2023.
The Liberal Party (LP) is a pro-Beijing, pro-business, and conservative political party in Hong Kong. Led by Tommy Cheung and chaired by Peter Shiu, it holds four seats in the Legislative Council, and holds five seats in the District Councils.
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of Hong Kong, the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom during British rule. The office, stipulated by the Hong Kong Basic Law, formally came into being on 1 July 1997 with the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China.
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) is a pro-Beijing conservative political party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Starry Lee and holding 13 Legislative Council seats, it is currently the largest party in the legislature and in terms of membership, far ahead of other parties. It has been a key supporting force to the SAR administration and the central government's policies on Hong Kong.
The Democratic Party (DP) is a centre-left liberal political party in Hong Kong. Chaired by Lo Kin-hei, it is the flagship party in the pro-democracy camp and currently has 7 elected representatives in the District Councils.
James Tien Pei-chun, GBS, OBE, JP is the former chairman and Leader of the Liberal Party (LP) and former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Legco). Coming from the background of an entrepreneur, he was also a non-official member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong (Exco), member of Central and Western and Kwai Tsing District Council and Hong Kong member to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Emily Lau Wai-hing, JP is a politician in Hong Kong who champions press freedom and human rights. A former journalist, she became the first woman directly elected on the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in the 1991 LegCo elections. She has served as Legislative Councillor for the New Territories East Constituency throughout the 1990s and 2000s until she stepped down in 2016. She was chairperson of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong until 2016.
Elections in Hong Kong take place when certain political offices in the government need to be filled. Hong Kong has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in the Legislative Council. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is nonpartisan but has to work with several parties to form a coalition government.
The 2005 Hong Kong Chief Executive election was held to fill the vacancy of the territory's top office. Then Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa submitted his resignation to the central government in Beijing, and was officially approved on 12 March. As Donald Tsang, Chief Secretary for Administration in Tung's cabinet, was the only candidate, he was declared elected unopposed on 16 June. Tsang took office on 21 June to begin his first two-year term.
The 1996 Hong Kong Chief Executive election was held on 11 December 1996 to select the first Chief Executive (CE) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) which term started from 1 July 1997 after the Chinese resumption of the sovereignty of Hong Kong from the British rule. It was selected by the 400-member Selection Committee installed by the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Tung Chee-hwa, a Shanghai-born Hong Kong businessman who was seen being favoured by Jiang Zemin, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, was the ultimate winner of the election, defeating former Chief Justice Ti-liang Yang and tycoon Peter Woo with a large margin.
The 1999 Hong Kong District Council elections were held on 28 November 1999 for all 18 districts of Hong Kong, for 390 members from directly elected constituencies out of total 519 council members. It was the first District Council election after the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, replacing the existing Provisional District Councils appointed by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.
The 2003 Hong Kong District Council elections were held on 23 November 2003 for all 18 districts of Hong Kong, 400 members from directly elected constituencies out of total 529 council members. It was the second District Council election after the handover of Hong Kong in 1997.
The 2006 Election Committee subsector elections were held from 7.30 am to 10.30 pm on 10 December 2006 in order to elect 664 members of Election Committee. The Election Committee was responsible for electing the Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive in 2007 Chief Executive Election.
The Second term of Tung Chee-hwa as Chief Executive of Hong Kong, or Tung administration, officially considered part of "The 2nd term Chief Executive of Hong Kong", relates to the period of governance of Hong Kong since the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong, between 1 July 2002 and 12 March 2005 until Tung Chee-hwa resigned from the office and the rest of the term was taken up by former Chief Secretary for Administration Donald Tsang.
The Third Legislative Council of Hong Kong was the meeting of the legislative branch of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The membership of the LegCo is based on the 2004 election. The term of the session was from 1 October 2004 to 30 September 2008, during the second half of the Tung Chee-hwa's administration until his resignation in 2005 and was replaced by Donald Tsang for the rest of the term, and also the beginning of the third term of Chief Executive after Tsang won in the 2007 Election. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) became the largest party with 10 seats. Notable newcomers to the Legislative Council included Leung Kwok-hung, Alan Leong, Ronny Tong, Albert Cheng, and Jeffrey Lam.
The 2005 Election Committee subsector by-elections were held on 1 May 2005 to fill the 33 vacancies in 17 subsectors of the Election Committee for electing the Hong Kong Chief Executive in the Chief Executive election in following March.
The Social Democratic Forum was a short-lived political group in Hong Kong formed by the radical faction of the Democratic Party. It consisted mostly the "Young Turks" faction of the Democratic Party which took a more pro-grassroots and street action approaches. It ceased to exist in April 2002 when most members joined The Frontier.
The 2005 Hong Kong electoral reform was carried out in late 2005 for the selection of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong (CE) in 2007 and Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) in 2008. The reform proposals were ultimately voted down by the pro-democracy camp.
Moha, literally "admiring toad" or "toad worship", is an internet meme spoofing Jiang Zemin, former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and paramount leader. It originated among the netizens in mainland China and has become a subculture on the Chinese internet. According to another explanation, it comes from China's social media Baidu Tieba. In the culture, Jiang is nicknamed há, or "toad", because of his supposed resemblance to a toad. Netizens who móhá call themselves "toad fans", "toad lovers" or "toad worshippers", or "mogicians" which is a wordplay on mófǎshī in Mandarin.
Sharon Cheung is a Hong Kong-based journalist and entrepreneur. She graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1995. She worked for the South China Morning Post from 1995 through 1998 and Hong Kong Cable Television News and Radio Television Hong Kong thereafter. She received the Outstanding Performance Award from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2003.
| Chief Executive elections | |
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| Election Committee elections | |
| Legislative Council elections | |
| Sanitary Board and municipal elections | |
| District Council elections | |
| Rural Representative elections |
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| National People's Congress elections | |
| Plebiscite | |
