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The Legislative Council of 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.
In the political systems of Hong Kong,a functional constituency is a professional or special interest group involved in the electoral process. Eligible voters in a functional constituency may include natural persons as well as other designated legal entities such as organisations and corporations.
The Heung Yee Kuk,officially the Heung Yee Kuk N.T.,is a statutory advisory body representing establishment interests in the New Territories,Hong Kong. The council is a powerful organisation comprising heads of rural committees which represent villages and market towns.
The Election Committee is the electoral college in Hong Kong that selects the Chief Executive (CE) and,since 2021,elects 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong Kong which states that "the Chief Executive shall be elected by a broadly representative Election Committee in accordance with this Law and appointed by the Central People's Government ." It is formed and performs its selection function once every five years,even in the event of a CE not completing their term. The membership of the Election Committee was expanded to 1,500 under the massive overhaul of the electoral system in 2021. The Election Committee has been criticised for its "small-circle" electoral basis and its composition favouring pro-Beijing and business interests.
Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee is a former Hong Kong television executive and politician. She was a member of the Legislative Council for nearly three decades,and was also a member of the Executive Council. She is honorary chairwoman of the Liberal Party,having formerly been its chairwoman.
Rural committees are bodies representing the welfare of indigenous residents in the New Territories of Hong Kong. The chairman of each rural committee is the representative in the Heung Yee Kuk,and is ex officio member of a district council.
Lau Wong-fat,GBM,GBS,OBE,JP was a Hong Kong businessman and politician. He had been the long-time chairman of the Rural Council,the most powerful organ representing the interests of the New Territories indigenous inhabitants from 1980 to 2015. He was also a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1985 to 2016. From 2009 to 2012 he was a non-official member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong. He had also served as the member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the Regional Council and the Tuen Mun District Council.
The 1998 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was held on 24 May 1998 for members of the 1st Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in 1997. Replacing the Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) strictly controlled by the Beijing government and boycotted by the pro-democracy camp,the elections returned 20 members from directly elected geographical constituencies,10 seats from the Election Committee constituency and 30 members from functional constituencies,of which 10 were uncontested.
The Co-operative Resources Centre was a short-lived political group in the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo). Led by the Senior Unofficial Member of the Executive and Legislative Councils Allen Lee,it was established on 12 December 1991 by a group of 21 appointed and indirectly elected Legislative Council members from the functional constituencies. It became the largest conservative faction in the legislature countering the pro-democracy United Democrats of Hong Kong (UDHK) won a landslide victory in the first direct Legislative Council election in 1991. In 1993,it was transformed into the Liberal Party.
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 Heung Yee Kuk functional constituency,formerly called the Rural functional constituency,is a functional constituency in the elections for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong first created in 1991. The constituency is composed of the chairman and vice chairmen of the Heung Yee Kuk and the ex officio,special and co-opted councillors of the full Council of the Kuk. One of the functional constituencies with the fewest electorates,it had only 155 registered voters in 2020. It corresponds to the Heung Yee Kuk Subsector in the Election Committee.
The 1985 Hong Kong Legislative Council election was an indirect election for members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo) held on 26 September 1985. It was the first ever election of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong which marked the beginning of the Hong Kong representative democracy.
The 1995 Hong Kong Urban Council and Regional Council elections were the municipal elections held on 5 March 1995 for the elected seats of the Urban Council and Regional Council respectively. It was the second of the three-tier elections held in 1995 under Governor Chris Patten's electoral reform,namely the 1994 District Board and 1995 Legislative Council election. The liberal Democratic Party continued its dominance by winning 23 seats in total. Due to the abolishment of the two Councils by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa in 1999,this election became the last election.
The Progressive Hong Kong Society was a political group in Hong Kong. It was established on 14 February 1985 by the then Executive and Legislative Council member Maria Tam. The party is considered conservative and pro-Beijing,in contrast to the pro-democracy forces which rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 90s.
The 2000 Election Committee subsector elections were held on 9 July 2000 to elect 664 members of Election Committee. The Election Committee was responsible for electing the Legislative Council members of the Election Committee constituency,as well as the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in the following 2002 Chief Executive election.
The 2002 Election Committee subsector by-elections were held on 6 January 2002 to update the membership of the Election Committee for electing the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in the following Chief Executive election in March.
The 1985 Hong Kong electoral reform introduced the first ever indirect election to the colonial legislature during the last years of the British colonial rule in Hong Kong. The reform proposals was first carried out in the Green Paper:the Further Development of Representative Government in Hong Kong in July 1984 right before the Sino-British Joint Declaration in December. The reform laid the foundation of the representative democracy in Hong Kong which developed throughout the last years of the colonial rule and succeeded by the democratic development in Hong Kong after the handover of Hong Kong in 1997.
Chan Yat-san was a Hong Kong politician and rural leader. He was a New Territories indigenous inhabitant and chairman of the powerful Heung Yee Kuk,and was dubbed the "King of the New Territories".
Kenneth Lau Ip-keung is a New Territories rural leader in Hong Kong. He is the current chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for the Heung Yee Kuk functional constituency,succeeding his father Lau Wong-fat in 2015 and 2016 respectively. He has been an unofficial member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong since 2017. He was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong SAR Government in 2017.
The 2016 Election Committee subsector elections were held on 11 December 2016 for 1,034 of the 1,200 members of the Election Committee (EC) which is responsible for electing the Chief Executive of Hong Kong (CE) in the 2017 election.