The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), abbreviation in Mandarin as Mínjìndǎng, is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Currently controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the major ruling party in Taiwan as of 2023 and the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition.
The Taiwan independence movement is a political movement which advocates the formal declaration of an independent and sovereign Taiwanese state, as opposed to Chinese unification or the status quo in Cross-Strait relations.
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 seven elected representatives in the District Councils.
Martin Lee Chu-ming is a Hong Kong politician and barrister. He is the founding chairman of the United Democrats of Hong Kong and its successor, the Democratic Party, Hong Kong's flagship pro-democracy party. He was also a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1985 to 1997 and from 1998 to 2008. Nicknamed the "Father of Democracy" in Hong Kong, he is recognised as one of the most prominent advocates for democracy and human rights in Hong Kong and China.
The debate over democracy in China has been a major ideological battleground in Chinese politics since the 19th century. China is not a liberal or representative democracy. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese government state that China is a "socialist democracy" and a "people's democratic dictatorship." Under Xi Jinping, China is also termed a "whole-process people's democracy." Many foreign and some domestic observers categorize China as an authoritarian one-party state, with some saying it has shifted to neoauthoritarianism. Some characterize it as a dictatorship.
The International Republican Institute (IRI) is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1983 and funded and supported by the United States federal government. Most of its board is drawn from the Republican Party. It is committed to advancing freedom and democracy worldwide by helping political parties to become more issue-based and responsive, assisting citizens to participate in government planning, and working to increase the role of marginalized groups in the political process, including women and youth. It was initially known as the National Republican Institute for International Affairs.
The National Democratic Institute (NDI), or National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, is a non-profit American NGO which states its mission as "support[ing] and strengthen[ing] democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government".
The pro-democracy camp, also known as the pan-democracy camp, is a political alignment in Hong Kong that supports increased democracy, namely the universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as given by the Basic Law under the "One Country, Two Systems" framework.
Ray Lau Kong-wah, JP, also called Ray Lau, is a former Hong Kong Government official and former member of both the Legislative Council and the Executive Council. Until 2020, he was Secretary for Home Affairs.
The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China in Hong Kong.
Keiji Furuya is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan.
Democratic development in Hong Kong has been a major issue since its transfer of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China in 1997. The one country, two systems principle allows Hong Kong to enjoy high autonomy in all areas besides foreign relations and defence, which are responsibilities of the central government. Hong Kong's Basic Law, also adopted after the 1997 handover, allowed residents to vote for local district councillors and directly elect about half of the region's legislators at the time. Many Hongkongers became concerned, however, after the first Chief Executive, Tung Chee-hwa, appeared to have mishandled this issue, while human rights and universal suffrage have also become focal points for the pro-democracy camp.
The pro-Beijing camp, pro-establishment camp, pro-government camp or pro-China camp refers to a political alignment in Hong Kong which generally supports the policies of the Beijing central government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) towards Hong Kong. The term "pro-establishment camp" is regularly in use to label the broader segment of the Hong Kong political arena which has the closer relationship with the establishment, namely the governments of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It is labeled the "Patriotic Front" by pro-Beijing media and "loyalists" by the rival pro-democracy camp.
The 1991 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held for members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo). The election of the members of functional constituencies was held on 12 September 1991 and the election of geographical constituency seats was held on 15 September respectively. It was the first ever direct election of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong history. There were 18 members from directly elected geographical constituencies, 21 members from functional constituencies, 17 members appointed by the Governor, and 3 official members.
The 2014–2015 Hong Kong electoral reform was a proposed reform for the 2017 Hong Kong Chief Executive election and 2016 Legislative Council election.
Liberalism has a long tradition as an economic philosophy since the founding of Hong Kong as an entrepôt which cherishes private property, the free market, and free trade. In recent decades, Hong Kong has earned its international reputation as one of the "freest economies in the world". As a political trend, liberalism has become the driving force of the democratic movement since the 1980s which is mainly represented by the pro-democracy camp which strives for the universal suffrage, human rights and rule of law in Hong Kong.
Conservatism has deep roots in Hong Kong politics and society. Today, as a political trend, it is often reflected in but not limited to the current pro-Beijing camp, one of the two major political forces in Hong Kong, as opposed to liberalism, a dominant feature of the pro-democracy camp. It has also become a political view taken by some localist political parties.
The pro-Republic of China camp, or the pro-Kuomintang camp (親國民黨派), is a political alignment in Hong Kong. It generally pledges allegiance to the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan and the Kuomintang.
Relations between the government of Hong Kong and the Republic of China (Taiwan) encompass both when the Republic of China controlled mainland China, and afterwards, when the Republic of China fled to Taiwan.
The 2021 Hong Kong electoral changes were initiated by the National People's Congress (NPC) on 11 March 2021 to "amend electoral rules and improve the electoral system" of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) for its Chief Executive (CE) and the Legislative Council (LegCo), in order to ensure a system in which only "patriots", according to the Chinese definition, govern Hong Kong. The reforms have been widely criticized for their negative impact on the democratic representation in the Hong Kong legislature.
